8 July 1999 Edition
``Damning indictment'' of RUC from US Congress leaders
Sinn Féin TD Caoimhghín O Caoláin has described a letter from ten leading members of the United States Congress to the Patten Commission as a ``damning indictment'' of the RUC.
At a meeting of the Ireland-United States Interparliamentary Group on Tuesday in Dublin, Congressman Ben Gilman, Chairperson of the House International Relations Committee, released the text of a letter to Chris Patten, chairperson of the Policing Commission, signed by Congressman Gilman, Speaker of the House of Representatives, J. Dennis Hastert, and ten other leading members of Congress. Gilman's Committee held a formal hearing in Washington earlier this year on the need for ``new and acceptable policing'' in the Six Counties. The letter, which accompanies the full transcript of the hearing, states:
``The sad history of Northern Ireland demonstrates that there has never truly been a police service that was acceptable to the Catholic/Nationalist community - and the testimony of our witnesses abundantly confirmed that fact... The historic anti-Catholic/Nationalist ethos of current policing in the North of Ireland must be totally eradicated, and a new police service must be strictly impartial, truly representative of the whole community, and fully accountable to all its citizens.''
Caoimhghín O Caoláin said:
``The conclusion of these leading Congress members, taken together with the detailed report of the House International Relations Committee Hearing on Policing which is being presented to the Patten Commission, are a damning indictment of the RUC. They represent a powerful endorsement of the demand for the disbandment of this sectarian force and its replacement with a real and acceptable police service.''
Congressman Walsh and Congressman Ben Gilman led the delegation, which was welcomed to Leinster House on Tuesday. The Congress delegation, with their counterparts from the Oireachtas, including the Sinn Féin TD, form the Ireland-United States Interparliamentary Group. They discussed the Irish peace process, including the current efforts to secure the full implementation of the Good Friday Agreement.
In his contribution Caoimhghín O Caoláin said:
``The two governments have put forward a plan which should see the Executive established on 15 July. We in Sinn Féin are working to ensure that this date marks the long overdue establishment of the Agreement's political institutions.
``It is incontemplatible that we cannot move beyond the current blockage. The Good Friday Agreement which secured the support of the overwhelming majority in referenda on both sides of the border is the basis on which we can move forward together.
``Working together for the first time in a unique experiment in the sharing of power, unionists, nationalists and republicans can, we believe, begin to address the wide range of issues which need to be resolved if we are to put conflict and division behind us once and for all.''
O Caoláin said that decommissioning, and the wider issue of demilitarisation of which it forms a part, could only take place in the context of the overall implementation of the Agreement. He was also critical of commentary emanating from 10 Downing St on Monday which threatened to end prisoner releases if IRA decommissioning did not occur. ``Using the prisoners as hostages in this way would be totally unacceptable and in clear breach of the Good Friday Agreement'' said O Caoláin.
At a meeting of the Ireland-United States Interparliamentary Group on Tuesday in Dublin, Congressman Ben Gilman, Chairperson of the House International Relations Committee, released the text of a letter to Chris Patten, chairperson of the Policing Commission, signed by Congressman Gilman, Speaker of the House of Representatives, J. Dennis Hastert, and ten other leading members of Congress. Gilman's Committee held a formal hearing in Washington earlier this year on the need for ``new and acceptable policing'' in the Six Counties. The letter, which accompanies the full transcript of the hearing, states:
``The sad history of Northern Ireland demonstrates that there has never truly been a police service that was acceptable to the Catholic/Nationalist community - and the testimony of our witnesses abundantly confirmed that fact... The historic anti-Catholic/Nationalist ethos of current policing in the North of Ireland must be totally eradicated, and a new police service must be strictly impartial, truly representative of the whole community, and fully accountable to all its citizens.''
Caoimhghín O Caoláin said:
``The conclusion of these leading Congress members, taken together with the detailed report of the House International Relations Committee Hearing on Policing which is being presented to the Patten Commission, are a damning indictment of the RUC. They represent a powerful endorsement of the demand for the disbandment of this sectarian force and its replacement with a real and acceptable police service.''
Congressman Walsh and Congressman Ben Gilman led the delegation, which was welcomed to Leinster House on Tuesday. The Congress delegation, with their counterparts from the Oireachtas, including the Sinn Féin TD, form the Ireland-United States Interparliamentary Group. They discussed the Irish peace process, including the current efforts to secure the full implementation of the Good Friday Agreement.
In his contribution Caoimhghín O Caoláin said:
``The two governments have put forward a plan which should see the Executive established on 15 July. We in Sinn Féin are working to ensure that this date marks the long overdue establishment of the Agreement's political institutions.
``It is incontemplatible that we cannot move beyond the current blockage. The Good Friday Agreement which secured the support of the overwhelming majority in referenda on both sides of the border is the basis on which we can move forward together.
``Working together for the first time in a unique experiment in the sharing of power, unionists, nationalists and republicans can, we believe, begin to address the wide range of issues which need to be resolved if we are to put conflict and division behind us once and for all.''
O Caoláin said that decommissioning, and the wider issue of demilitarisation of which it forms a part, could only take place in the context of the overall implementation of the Agreement. He was also critical of commentary emanating from 10 Downing St on Monday which threatened to end prisoner releases if IRA decommissioning did not occur. ``Using the prisoners as hostages in this way would be totally unacceptable and in clear breach of the Good Friday Agreement'' said O Caoláin.