SF youth wing will not back policing motion

Sinn Féin leaders have suffered a setback in their bid to persuade party members to support the Police Service of Northern Ireland, it emerged tonight.

The party’s youth wing Ogra Shin Féin has instructed delegates to this Sunday’s special conference in Dublin to vote against Gerry Adams’ motion which recommends the party getting involved in policing structures in the North.

However the party leadership was quick to point out that while the youth wing decided to vote against the motion, they also agreed to respect whatever decision was made at this weekend’s policing debate.

Barry McColgan, the head of Ogra Shinn Féin, said: “The issue of policing is absolutely huge for republican activists, our communities and support base and any decision taken on policing will have wide ranging implications for republicanism as a whole.

“Ogra Shinn Féin’s position from its inception since 1997 has always opposed the brutal, sectarian state militia, that passed for a police force in the north.

“It was Ogra who spearheaded the ’Disband the RUC’ campaign, it was Ogra who called on young people not to join in a repackaged RUC – the PSNI and it was Ogra who last year were shouting from the rooftops, literally, to ’smash political policing’.

“The motion passed at this weekend’s national congress sets out a revolutionary new model of policing with radical changes in structure and practice. It calls for the formation of municipal policing which is locally accountable at district council level, decentralising power away from the state. It is about decoupling the state from policing.

“It is important that next weekend there is a healthy, comradely debate and that whatever decision is taken that we remain united.”

Sinn Féin leadership figures have been involved in a frantic round of internal debates and public meetings over the past 10 days which will continue in the run-up to this Sunday’s policing debate.

Local branches are currently deciding how they will approach the debate.

However despite Ogra Shinn Féin’s rejection of the motion, leadership sources were satisfied with how the debate within the party was unfolding.

“The important thing about the Ogra position is they have said they will respect the verdict of Sunday’s extraordinary ard fheis (conference),” a source said.

“What is quite clear from the public meetings that Gerry Adams and others have been conducting is that people are coming to this issue in a mature fashion and they are coming out agreeing that no matter what view they take republicans will stay united.

“The Ogra position illustrates what Gerry Adams has been saying to those people who criticise the party. Gerry has been saying Sinn Féin members are not sheep.

“They do weigh up the arguments and they debate the issues in a mature way.”

Sinn Fein support for policing in Northern Ireland is seen by Prime Minister Tony Blair and Irish Taoiseach Bertie Ahern as crucial to their plan to set up a power sharing government in Northern Ireland by March 26.

Democratic Unionist leader, the Rev Ian Paisley will not contemplate sharing power with Sinn Féin without the party demonstrating its support for the police, the courts and the rule of law.