Éirígí Comments On Six County Policing Debate
A debate entitled `Policing - A Bridge Too Far For Republicans?' took place last Monday November 27th in the Conway Mill, West Belfast on the subject of the proposed and anticipated involvement of Sinn Féin in policing structures in the Six Counties. The meeting was organised by Fr. Des Wilson and the solicitor Pádraigín Drinan, and was chaired by Brendan Mackin, a trade unionist who works for the Belfast Centre for the Unemployed. Upwards of 250 people packed into the venue. Speakers on the night included Willie Gallagher of the Irish Republican Socialist Party (IRSP), Francie Mackie of the 32 County Sovereignty Movement (32 CSM) and Declan Kearney of Sinn Féin.
Éirígí is encouraged by this event coming as it does only a couple of weeks after a similar debate organised by the James Connolly debating society, also in West Belfast. Éirígí hopes that these initiatives mark the beginning, however belated, of a community and Ireland-wide debate on the nature and type of policing needed in a new Ireland.
It is Éirígí's considered opinion that the acceptance by some republicans of the proposed policing structures will have the effect of concretising British rule in Ireland and perpetuating the denial of democracy that this entails.
Speaking on the policing issue, Éirígí spokesperson Daithí Mac An Mhaistír commented that -
“What ultimately must be acknowledged with regard to the proposed justice and policing arrangements for the Six County area is that recognising and engaging with these institutions can serve only to legitimise and uphold the anti-democratic system that British rule in the Six County area represents."
"The fact that these proposed structures flow from an agreement based upon an acceptance of the unionist veto and the continuation of British rule means that republicans who decide to participate in them will in effect be giving their assent to a police force and ‘justice’ system that is tasked with upholding and maintaining the constitutional status quo”.
He continued “Given that the primary function of all police forces is to defend the authority & legitimacy of the state and to serve the interests of those in power, it is fallacious to think that republican involvement in these structures can have any other outcome. The truth is that years of negotiation have resulted in nothing other than a restructuring and updating of British rule in Ireland to accommodate former enemies of the Statelet within its parameters, and co-opt them into its administration. Both the 1998 Belfast Agreement and the 2006 St. Andrew's Agreement are designed to do just that and have multiple safeguards to neutralise any attempts to ‘change the system from within’.
Two examples will suffice to demonstrate this: firstly, recommendations 25 & 26 of the Patten report (which still stand) expressly state that the already limited oversight afforded the Policing Board and District Policing Partnerships can (and therefore will) be circumvented in the interests of `national security'. This of course being British national security. Secondly, that MI5 (the service responsible for the internal security of the `UK') will retain overall and inscrutable control of intelligence operations is confirmation if ever confirmation of this fact was needed. To suggest that the British might be forced to concede that MI5 will have no part in ‘civic policing’ is clearly indicative of how misguided some are with regard to understanding the nature of the British State.”
Speaking on the broader issue of policing in Ireland, Daithi outlined the Éirígí position -
“The entire issue of crime and policing can only be discussed as part of a much broader examination of society. Much of the current debate on policing, in both parts of Ireland, is coming from a very narrow “law and order” perspective. We only need police because we have crime, so let me first say something about the causes of crime. The reality is that crime, and violent crime in particular, is part and parcel of any capitalist society. One has to look no further than the United States, the home of modern-day capitalism, for evidence to support this; the wealthiest country in the world but also the most inequitable with a prison population in excess of two million people. As socialists we would argue that until we achieve a society which treats all of its citizens equally, in terms of access to, and distribution of, power and wealth, crime will continue to be a major problem. That is not to say that we believe that there will be zero-crime in some sort of socialist utopia, it is simply to make the point that highly inequitable societies have inherently high rates of crime. The reverse is also true; societies within which all citizens have a real stake have much lower levels of crime. Until we achieve such a society crime will continue to be a major issue."
"In an Irish context we have the added complication of the British occupation. British policing in Ireland has always, and will always, have the protection of that occupation as its primary function. Regardless of changes of names or uniforms the first line of defence of the occupation will be the police. Historically this has led to overly-militarised police forces that were primarily tasked with combating those who would resist British rule. This was true for both the RIC and the RUC and will be equally true for the so called PSNI."
"There has been a noticeable mirroring of this effect in the Twenty Six County state where the Gardaí are equally tasked with upholding the constitutional and economic status-quo. Recent events in Co Mayo have demonstrated exactly the same kind of heavy-handed policing that we are familiar with in the Six Counties."
"Against this backdrop Éirígí believes that the current debate on policing in the occupied counties is being conducted on the basis of a flawed logic, i.e. that a just and equitable policing system can be established within an occupied territory. We believe the two to be mutually exclusive."
"While recognising that there are very real and profound social problems that result from the policing vacuum in the Six County area, we do not believe that endorsing a British police force will solve these. All across Europe there are police forces that are accepted and supported by the communities within which they operate and yet, within these communities there are problems in relation to illegal drugs, anti-social behaviour and violent crime etc. Accepting and supporting a police force does not lead to a crime-free society. It is also worth noting that the highest levels of these crimes are to be found in the most marginalised and impoverished communities."
"The situation within the Six Counties is unique in Europe and it is arguable that the solution to the issues of crime within the Nationalist and Republican community will need to be equally unique in nature."
"We in Éirígí believe that it is possible to develop a community based system of crime-prevention and policing entirely separate from, or dependent upon the British state or exchequer. In this there is historic precedence in the Republican Courts established during the Tan War. While accepting that there is no direct parallel with today we can however take inspiration from this period."
"We in Éirígí do not underestimate the difficulties involved in developing such an alternative but believe it to be the only viable option for nationalist and republican communities living under British rule. Such a system could draw upon the vast amount of national and international experience in Community Restorative Justice, Citizens Juries and Community Watch projects etc. A first step might be the establishment of participative public forums to discuss and debate how such a system might be developed."
"The real point here is that the solutions to crime, and the social problems that cause and gives rise to crime, cannot be found nor based upon the injustice of British rule in Ireland. The occupation of any part of Ireland is a crime against human progress and, therefore, involvement with policing in this context would most certainly be a political bridge too far”.