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Ulster Herald , 22. February 2007

Doherty seeking Ombudsman to attend public meeting in 'Derg

BY MARK McKELVEY

IN an attempt to bring an end to the ongoing tensions and "victimisation" of the nationalists community in the Castlederg area, Pat Doherty MP has requested the police Ombudsman attend a public meeting in the town. The West Tyrone Sinn Féin MP hopes this move will help constituents appraise the complaints procedures available against PSNI officers who they believe to be operating in a partisan political manner. Mr Doherty has followed up a meeting he held with Nuala O'Loan on Friday last with the request for a meeting.

July 22, 2006, Castlederg: a contentious Orange Parade
was not allowed through the Castlederg nationalist area.

He said:
"Apart from the PSNI adopting a consistently aggressive approach when dealing with people they clearly recognise as being from the nationalist side of the community in this area, this campaign has seen an unprecedented number of young nationalists being arrested and dragged before the courts - a number that bears totally no resemblance to the demographic make of the local community."

The MP continued to explain that in December 2005, hundreds of local nationalists were forced to protest outside Castlederg PSNI barracks such was the anger about the "overtly partisan" nature of policing in the area. However he states since that time the situation has got "progressively worse".

"Among the issues I raised with Nuala O'Loan were some of the recent examples of this political policing by the PSNI in Castlederg including; interrogating and subjecting two young Catholic school boys to a traumatic ordeal after wrongly accusing them of stealing from a local shop in the town in November and arresting nationalist youths at the behest of a loyalist crowd in December,"
declared Mr Doherty.

"I have now also received written confirmation from the Ombudsman's Office that following an earlier complaint I submitted in my capacity as MP, disciplinary action is now to be taken against a PSNI officer for "facilitating" the progression of an Apprentice Boys parade along a stretch of the Lurganbuoy Road which had been prohibited by the Parades Commission.

I believe that Mrs O'Loan was seriously concerned about the situation in Castlederg and I trust that she will take up my request for her to attend a public meeting to appraise constituents of the complaints procedures available against PSNI officers who they believe to be operating in a partisan political manner. Perhaps her attendance at this public meeting will carry even more significance in that it will firmly shine the spotlight on what has been going on in Castlederg as will Sinn Féin's continued representations on the issue at the highest levels of both governments."

A spokesperson for the Police Ombudsman Office confirmed that as yet no date has been set for this public meeting but that Nuala O'Loan does wish to visit Castlederg in the near future to discuss with the community the concerns raised by Mr Doherty last week and also to explain the role of the Police Ombudsman's office.


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