Backing police a step into history

By Vincent Kearney
Home affairs correspondent, BBC Northern Ireland

Supporting the police and encouraging nationalists to join it will be a truly historic change for republicans, and one that many see as a bridge too far.

The actions of the old RUC are cited by republicans as reason for the distrust

Republicans have long memories. For them, the attack by loyalist mobs on Bombay Street in August 1969, when hundreds of Catholics had to flee their burning homes, is still relevant today.

At the time, many nationalists accused the police of standing by as they were attacked.

That same week, nationalists and the police fought running battles in Derry during what became known as the Battle of the Bogside.

The riots followed an Apprentice Boys parade and again, nationalists pointed an accusing finger at the police.

Some commentators view those two incidents as the start of the troubles, and the reason for the catastrophic breakdown in relations between the Catholic community and the police.

That's the view of Brian Feeney, author of "Sinn Fein: A Hundred Turbulent Years".

He says: "The effect of the role that the RUC played in both the Bogside and places like Bombay Street meant that the Catholic community saw the police as their enemies, as their atttackers, and immediately afterwards set up barricades to prevent the police coming into any of those areas.

"They were called no-go areas and the police couldn't get back into them and the RUC never regained the confidence of the Catholic community as a result of that."

Chris Ryder, the author of a number of books on policing and a former member of the Police Authority, believes the seeds of division were sown much earlier, when the RUC was founded in 1922.

It is the biggest step that republicans have ever been asked to take Brian Feeney Political commentator

"The unionist government wanted an armed constabulary because they didn't trust the British to send the army in if the IRA or the forces in the south tried to take over the north," he says.

"So instead of having a conventional police force, they had an armed police force charged with defending the state.

"And although a third of the places in the new police force were reserved for Catholics they did everything they could to discourage them from being taken up by Catholics."

Throughout the Troubles, republicans viewed the RUC as the enemy, an armed unionist militia defending Northern Ireland's constitutional position.

The risk was so high that the police couldn't patrol many areas on their own and needed constant Army protection.

But the IRA still managed to kill more than 270 police officers, and left hundreds of others maimed.

Much has changed in recent years. The RUC is gone. Chris Patten was brought in to transform the police and its relationship with the nationalist community.

His report consigned the RUC to the history books and created the PSNI, with built in safeguards to dramatically increase the number of Catholics in the ranks.

Policing changes

But Sinn Fein said the changes didn't go far enough. Now they are being asked to endorse that new police service, and to recognise it as the legitimate face of law and order.

An intense debate is taking place within republican ranks. A public meeting to debate the issue of policing in west Belfast on Monday night heard much criticism of the police and the calls for republican support.

There is clearly much unease about the issue.

"It is the biggest step that republicans have ever been asked to take," explains Brian Fenney.

"Sharing power is nothing compared to saying that they recognise the state and urge people to join the police force and support law and order within the state. And for a lot of republicans that will be a step too far."

Gerry Kelly, Sinn Fein's spokesman on policing, acknowledges that the issue is a difficult one, but also insists that republicans want a new start to policing.

He says: "They want a police service that for the first time, not just in our lifetimes but this is generational, this is talking to your grandparents or your parents, that for the first time you could have a police service which actually represented the people and acted as a civilian, instead of an armed force of the state."

Police needed Army protection to patrol some areas

Sinn Fein is under growing pressure to call a special Ard Fheis to debate the issue and to approve a new policy on policing. The ground is clearly being prepared.

Senior party members have been travelling all over Ireland with a power-point presentation setting out the changes in policing in recent years.

This week, it was announced that a Sinn Fein politician has taken an official role on a policing board for the first time.

Dublin Councillor Larry O'Toole has become vice-chair of the city's Joint Policing Committee.

He says his appointment should not be taken as an indication of the party's position on the PSNI - but Sinn Fein does not do things by accident and such a move would not happen unless endorsed by the leadership.

Joining the policing board in Northern Ireland will be a much bigger step - and it's one that many repuiblicans do not want to take. But if Sinn Fein wants to be part of a devolved government at Stormont, it has no choice.