Irish Americans want end to IRA criminality - Attwood

Irish Americans are still focused on the demand that the IRA ends all its involvement in criminality and recognises the rule of law, a nationalist member of Northern Ireland’s Policing Board said today.

Belfast Assembly member Alex Attwood, who is in Washington DC for a series of meetings on Capitol Hill, said people in the US wanted to see progress in the wake of the IRA’s pledge to end its armed campaign and its move to complete disarmament.

“What Irish America is saying, and we acknowledge this, is that the recent moves by republicans are significant,” Mr Attwood told the Press Association.

“However policing and criminality are still centre-stage.

“For Irish America it is not an either or. It is not either weapons or an end to criminality. It is both.

“So people are saying good work has been done on the issue of weapons but we need to get more and end the criminality from republicans and on respect for law and authority.

“They have not lost the focus on policing and organised crime.”

Mr Attwood said his discussions had also revealed concern in Irish America that the British government would approve community restorative justice schemes in republican areas, which would not require the people involved to endorse policing in Northern Ireland.

“There is real concern that the British Government is about to approve and fund community policing schemes, community restorative justice without requiring that Sinn Féin endorses policing,” he observed.

“They can see the folly of a Government approach that leaves republicans under no obligation to move on policing.”

The SDLP Police Board member criticised the announcement by Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Hain today that the board would be revamped next April to reflect the political climate.

Under the British government plan, the Rev Ian Paisley’s Democratic Unionists, Northern Ireland’s largest party, would have four members instead of their current tally of three.

The Ulster Unionists would have two instead of their present four, the SDLP would have two instead of three and Sinn Féin would be offered two.

However the government also indicated that in order to maintain community balance if Sinn Féin refuses again to take its two seats, those would be allocated to nationalists nominated as independent members of the board.

Mr Attwood said this was a big victory for those pressing for the implementation of policing reforms in Northern Ireland envisaged by the Commission chaired by former EU Commissioner Chris Patten.

“The DUP did not get what they were looking for,” he said.

“The argument made by the Irish Government and the SDLP that those seats should remain in nationalist hands if Sinn Féin cannot come up to the mark has got through to the British government.

They are not going to let the board be used as a sword to attack the Patten agenda.”