Good Friday Agreement

A step forward in the struggle for an accountable police service

There seems to be an agreement between the British Government, the police PSNI and Sinn Féin about policing. Tony Blair wrote to the House of Commons to confirm that MI5 and the PSNI will stay separate organisations, the PSNI Chief Constable Hugh Orde admitted that the police killed innocent victims by using plastic bullets as crowd control weapons. Sinn Féin set January 28 as date for the special Ard Fheis on supporting policing. The DUP somehow excluded itself by not following the carefully planned step by step approach with a positive declaration of Ian Paisley. Now they are trapped in an internal infighting.
Below we publish the correspondent press releases by Sinn Féin, the British Government and the PSNI Chief Constable:

(I) Irish Times, 10.1.2007: MI5 and PSNI to be separate, Blair confirms
(II) RTE News, 12.1.2007: Orde: 'No use of plastic bullets in future'
(III) Sinn Féin News, 13.1.2007: Sinn Féin Ard Fheis to go ahead on January 28th

Irish Times, 10. Januar 2007 MI5 and PSNI to be separate, Blair confirms

British intelligence services MI5 will operate separately from the PSNI under new security arrangements proposed for the North, British prime minister Tony Blair confirmed today.

In a written statement to MPs designed to help Sinn Féin endorse the police in Northern Ireland for the first time in the party's history, Mr Blair said that MI5 and the PSNI would be completely distinct and separate bodies.

He insisted no police officers would be seconded to or under the control of MI5.

All necessary interaction on issues such as international terrorism between the two organisations would be by way of liaison, with a small number of police officers based at PSNI headquarters in contact with the security service.

"The small number of police officers who act in a liaison capacity with the Security Service will be PSNI Headquarters staff acting in that role for fixed time-limited periods to the extent that the Chief Constable deems necessary for them to perform their duties," Mr Blair said in the statement.

"Policing is the responsibility solely of the PSNI. The Security Service will have no role whatsoever in civic policing.

"Leadership and direction of all police work is the responsibility of the Chief Constable who will remain accountable to the Policing Board.

"All PSNI officers will be employed by the PSNI and will be accountable solely to the Chief Constable and to the Policing Board and upon transfer to the Ministers for Justice."

Sinn Féin's spokesman on justice and policing, Gerry Kelly, said that the proposal's would go a long way towards achieving "a new beginning on policing".

Mr Kelly said: "Our [Sinn Féin] objective has been to firewall local policing from the malign and corruptive control of MI5".

"For decades people across this island have suffered enormously as a result of the activities of MI5, which has been responsible for collusion and state sponsored killings in Dublin and Monaghan and across the north.

"The proposals today remove MI5 from policing structures in Ireland".

Mr Blair also announced that the Ombudsman, Nuala O'Loan, would retain her statutory powers to hold to account all police officers and have access to all information held by the police.

But he added: "The Ombudsman's office and the security service will agree arrangements for the Ombudsman's access to sensitive information held by the service, where necessary for the discharge of the Ombudsman's statutory duties."

Mr Blair also announced plans to invite Liberal Democrat peer Lord Carlile, the independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, to review annually the operation of the new national security arrangements which are due to come into effect in Northern Ireland later this year.

"In the course of his review, he will consult the Chief Constable, the Policing Board and the Police Ombudsman, as well as taking into account any views which the First Minister and the Deputy First Minister and, in due course, Justice Ministers may put to him," he said. (...)

RTE News, 12. Januar 2007 Orde: 'No use of plastic bullets in future'

The PSNI Chief Constable has said he does not intend to use plastic bullets in crowd control in the future.

Hugh Orde acknowledged that some of the 17 people killed by plastic bullets during the Troubles were innocent.

Mr Orde said he believes Sinn Féin's leadership is committed to joining policing but they may need to convince many people in their own community who are still unsure.

(Remark: Between 1970 and 2005 almost 126,000 rubber and plastic bullets were fired. This weapon has killed 17 people - including 9 children. They were deliberately used against peaceful protestors and mourners attending funerals. They were almost exclusively used againt the Irish nationalist or republican communities. In 1981 alone the RUC fired almost 30,000 plastic bullets killing 7 people, three of whom were children. Thousands more were injured.)

Sinn Féin News, 13. Januar 2007 Sinn Féin Ard Fheis to go ahead on January 28th

Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams MP speaking following a meeting of the party's Ard Chomhairle in Dublin this afternoon said 'The Ard Chomhairle today backed a proposal for an Extraordinary Ard Fheis to go ahead on January 28th. This is a hugely courageous decision and will ensure that the process continues to move forward." Mr. Adams said 'I believe that the new beginning to policing promised in the Good Friday Agreement is now within our grasp. Sinn Fein wants to get policing right. The Extraordinary Sinn Fein Ard Fheis is the important next step.'

Mr. Adams said:

Irish republicans and nationalists want, need and deserve proper and accountable policing. On Thursday, December 28, I said that I believe that Irish republicans need now to take the necessary next step on policing -- that it is the right thing to do. This was the position I put to today's meeting. In response, the Sinn Fein Ard Chomhairle today took the historic and courageous decision to proceed to an Ard Fheis on policing despite the failure of the DUP to respond positively. If the Ard Fheis adopts the proposed motion then we will have the potential, for the first time ever, for the full involvement by Irish republicans in policing structures across the island.

The Ard Chomhairle has decided to proceed with the planned Ard Fheis on January 28th and on the basis of the motion agreed by the Ard Chomhairle on December 29 which commits Sinn Fein to:

- Support for the PSNI and criminal justice system

- Hold the police and criminal justice systems fully to account both democratically and legally

- Appoint party representatives to the Policing Board and District

- Policing Partnership Boards to secure fair, impartial and effective policing with the community;

- Authorise Sinn Féin Ministers to take the ministerial Pledge of Office

- Actively encourage everyone in the community to co-operate fully with the police services in tackling crime in all areas and actively supporting all the criminal justice institutions

The Ard Chomhairle is proposing that an Extraordinary Ard Fheis adopts this motion and gives the Ard Chomhairle the responsibility and authority to fully implement all elements of it. The necessary context for this is the re-establishment of the political institutions and confirmation that policing and justice powers will be transferred to these institutions or when acceptable new partnership arrangements to implement the Good Friday Agreement are in place.

It would be entirely wrong to allow the most negative elements of unionism a veto over republican and nationalist efforts to achieve the new beginning to policing promised in the Good Friday Agreement. Sinn Fein will not be paralysed by rejectionist elements of the DUP.

There are also those within the PSNI who are opposed to change. In this context, I have been made aware of incidents in parts of South Derry, Castlederg and County Armagh where local PSNI units are involved in trying to destabilise nationalist communities. This is entirely predictable and needs to be stopped.

Our objective is to secure a proper policing service and to hold that policing service, once achieved, fully to account. We have already achieved enormous progress on the issues of democratic accountability, human rights protections and the ending of political and repressive policing. Over recent days, we have also seen progress and changes on the key issues of the removal of MI5 from local policing structures and on the use of plastic bullets. I believe that the new beginning to policing promised in the Good Friday Agreement is now within our grasp. Sinn Fein wants to get policing right. The Extraordinary Sinn Fein Ard Fheis is the important next step. ENDS