Police and Reid must explain raids

A POLICE raid on the office of any political party is a staggering development in a democracy.

Yesterday, a force of about 200 police raided the homes of some six republican activists in north and west Belfast at about 5am. A handful of men were arrested and a quantity of documents were seized.

Later that morning, police raided the main administrative offices of Sinn Féin in the Stormont Executive building. The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) indicated that while the raids were part of an investigation into intelligence-gathering by republicans, there was no connection with the raid in which highly sensitive police files were stolen from Castlereagh police station on St Patrick’s Day.

The PSNI raids appear to have been meticulously planned, as the police seemed to have a fairly limited objectives, going after specific material, rather than engaging in a documentary fishing expedition. The search of the Sinn Féin Administrative Office was reportedly confined mainly to one of the party’s 18 offices, and only a limited number of computer disks were allegedly seized.

The police indicated that the raid was part of a thorough investigation that had been going on for months into the activities of an employee of the Northern Ireland Office, who was suspected of passing on highly sensitive intelligence information. If there is evidence that Sinn Féin was collecting such information, party leaders will have to do some explaining.

There can be no ambivalence about the party’s commitment to democracy, if it is to share power in the current executive.

The nature of the searches seemed to suggest that the PSNI was following a very definite line of inquiry and that it was also confident that the raids would turn up significant evidence. The raiding parties had search

warrants, so it was virtually inconceivable that the raid would not have taken place on the Stormont office without the prior approval of, at least, the Northern Secretary, John Reid.

In the circumstances, it is enormously embarrassing for a number of very prominent people, if the police are not able to produce more than the proverbial ball of smoke to justify their raids.

Sinn Féin’s spokespeople have been loud in their condemnation of the raids. Gerry Adams accused the PSNI of being “anti-peace process, anti-Sinn Féin and anti-democratic”. Even assuming the Sinn Féin leader’s firm commitment to furthering the peace process, he is hardly the best person to pronounce on anyone’s democratic credentials. People should therefore keep an open mind. A police raid on the offices of a political party in a democracy would normally be considered unthinkable, but Northern Ireland is hardly a normal democracy. The Northern Secretary and the PSNI must, however, explain the circumstances behind the raids.

Intelligence-gathering need not necessarily be illegal. All political parties engage in different forms of political intelligence-gathering. Consequently, it is important that the authorities explain the situation fully, because the allegations that have been made against Sinn Féin have been poisoning the political atmosphere and endangering the peace process.