I
feel this short statement from Mr Kearney in itself
tells us a great deal about the worries and doubts
a considerable number of SF members are having over
whether or not members of their party should be
nominated to the NI Policing Board, something which
is being demanded of them by both the British and
ROI governments, along with all of the main political
parties in the north.
However,
for me, the above proposition the Daily Ireland
journalist raised with Mr Bradley says it all: for
the status quo to be maintained, the northern Statelet
must exist in perpetuity, thus making it very difficult,
if not an impossibility, for an Irish Republican
worthy of the name to sit on the Policing Board.
For if they were to do so, they would have morphed
into a Unionist and a supporter of the Status Quo
to boot.
I
do not intend to be insulting here, but there is
no other way one can look at this. The purpose of
the Northern Ireland Policing Board is to provide
window dressing for the PSNI. If the Chief Constable
over-spends when redecorating his office, the policing
board's members can bring him to account. If he
allows, with or without prior knowledge, the PSNI
Special Branch to burgle and bug their way across
the north of Ireland, it is an operational matter
and not in the Board's remit, thus it is not their
concern. Unless, that is, they make it so; even
then they would have no power to order the Chief
Constable to cease such actions.
The
PSNI are not, as they are often portrayed in the
media these days, some sort of independent neutral
body, but a defensive arm of the State. When push
comes to shove, they will be used against any organization
or individuals which threaten the smooth running
of the NI State-let. If Republicans sit on the Policing
Board they will become part of the state machine.
By being so they will be acting against the best
interest of those they represent; it cannot but
be so.
What SF is being asked to do here is accept responsibility
without power, which is one of oldest sleight of
hands within Perfidious Albion's armory. These Policing
Boards are being sold to the general public as the
height of accountability as far as Northern Ireland's
policing is concerned, when in reality they are
no such thing. They are designed as political cover
for the PSNI and there is absolutely no constructive
reason why members of Sinn Fein should sit upon
them
Yet
both PMs, Tony Blair and Bertie Ahern, are insistent
that they do so, for like the majority of the nationalist
community they are well aware the police are the
sharp end of the northern state-let. If disorder
once again breaks out, and if SF have by then joined
the police boards, they will be partly responsible
for the police service which will be called upon
to suppress any disorder. They will have become
an active part of the NI state machine.
If,
for example, leading SF politicians were to complain
about the heavy handed nature of the police, those
in power will scoff and reply, "But you yourself
play a role in overseeing the police, how can you
possibly criticize them, they were only doing their
job. The place to raise criticism of the PSNI is
within the Policing Boards, not within the Assembly
or in the media". In other words, SF will have
been neutered.
Sinn Fein has already accepted the writ of the rule
of law in the northern statelet and that is all
any state can demand of its people or their political
representatives.
The Shinners should tell Mr Blair: 'It is your police
force, you manage them; but understand if they step
over the mark we will expose them publicly for doing
so and not via back channels and the old boys network
so beloved by the likes of Mr Bradley'. (A man who,
according to his own words, failed to ask questions
because no one asked him to.)
In
any case, the interview with Mr Bradley clearly
showed these policing boards are powerless window-dressing.
Similar police committees are in place in England
and no half decent politician would waste their
time sitting on them. As Mr Bradley said in a very
revealing manner, why bother phoning the Chief Constable
when you can telephone the Taoiseach or PM? That
statement said it all for me, as it not only revealed
the methodology of Denis Bradley's politics, but
it also exposed the Policing Board for the toothless
body it is. One can only wonder why anyone would
consider discarding his pristine green shirt for
such a sorry orange garment.
