Isn’t It Ironic: Sinn Féin’s Partitionist Approach To Policing

I had to laugh when I saw this, although I’m quite sure it isn’t funny for nationalist people living in areas with a policing vacuum [in the north].

An Garda is currently recruiting people for its new reserve force. So far 3,200 applications have been received for the force.

However, Sinn Féin’s Aengus Ó Snodaigh is not happy, complaining: “This proposal would not be fair on communities who deserve policing of the highest standard, from a fully trained and professional service. Neither would it be fair on the proposed reserve volunteers themselves who would form part of a parallel police force incapable of ensuring comparable human rights standards in their activities.”

Let me repeat some of that- “This proposal would not be fair on communities who deserve policing of the highest standard, from a fully trained and professional service.”

Is this man serious?

This is the same party who, in the north of the country, is supporting the concept of Community Restorative Justice, a scheme which completely contradicts the concept of “policing of the highest standard from a fully trained and professional service.”

If Sinn Féin believes that communities in the south are entitled to ‘fully-trained, professional policing of the highest standard’ (apparently beyond the fully trained and officially managed reserve which is being established by the government through this Garda Reserve scheme), then why are communities in the north not entitled to the same? Why should northern nationalists have to endure what Sinn Féin itself has admitted is an alternative police force, a force which is manned by unregulated, non-professional, untrained (in any internationally recognised sense), unqualified, often ex-convicts?

It is rather partitionist for Sinn Féin to insist on such different standards for residents on either side of the border.

By the way, this is the same Aengus Ó Snodaigh whose election worker Niall Binead was convicted less than two years ago of membership of the IRA after An Garda found a document containing the names of up to 20 Fine Fáil and Fine Gael TDs and details of their movements (how brave of him). And the same Aengus Ó Snodaigh whose wife was shortly afterwards found guilty of public order offences after being accused of throwing a glass at a Garda patrol car in Dublin. And the same Aengus Ó Snodaigh who was happily photographed beside the killers of Garda Jerry McCabe. Is this the kind of man who should really be lecturing An Garda or anyone else on policing and justice?

Now, back to the issue at hand. Let me repeat what else Ó Snodaigh said, just to let it sink in: “Neither would it be fair on the proposed reserve volunteers themselves who would form part of a parallel police force incapable of ensuring comparable human rights standards in their activities.”

Yet in the north, an alternative parallel police force is exactly what Sinn Féin is proposing in the form of CRJ. As Sinn Féin ‘Human Rights’ spokesperson (any oxymoron?) Caitriona Ruane said: “Sinn Fein plans to set up similar initiatives throughout South Down in order to offer a viable alternative to the PSNI.”

So, in the south Sinn Féin opposes a ‘parallel’ police force- one which is fully within the control of An Garda, which will receive official training and be bound by Human Rights legislation, is independent of any party, will have rigorous screening to ensure the suitability of appointees, supplements the official full-time police force and works with it in a fully compatible manner, and which has an open and transparent recruitment programme which is advertised on both sides of the border.

Yet in the north, Sinn Féin is supporting the establishment of an ‘alternative’ to the regular police which is not under any control from the police service, does not receive official training or be bound by the Human Rights Act, is aligned to a political party and whose modus operandi vis-à-vis the PSNI is largely based upon that of said party, does not have rigorous screening for candidates (hence the fact that ex-cons form part of its ranks, a fact which it seems quite happy with), does not supplement the official police service (and indeed has said it will not work with them) but will run wholly independently of it, and obviously does not have an open and transparent recruitment programme (the concept of ‘ it is who you know rather than what you know’ which seems to be the order of the day if you wish to become one of their ‘practitioners’). Not only that, but Sinn Féin’s alternative has been castigated by the Independent Monitoring Commission.

Why is Sinn Féin so worried about human rights in relation to the Garda Reserve, but not with regard to CRJ (a much less regulated and unbound organisation)?

When it comes to justice and policing for Irish people, as far as Sinn Féin is concerned those living south of the British Government-imposed border have more rights than those living north of it.

For the provisionals, an officially sanctioned reserve force in the south is not good enough, yet in the north an unofficial unsanctioned alternative force is not only acceptable, but desirable.

Sinn Féin’s claims to be ‘building an Ireland of equals’- is seems some Irish people are more equal than others.

[Originally posted on ElBlogador.com]