Conclusions from the Ard Fheis     Brian Halpin • 1 February 2006 Policing and Republicans joining policing is dominating all our minds. To no surprise the motion proposed by Sinn Fein's Ard Comhairle was supported by over 90% of the grassroots. But, is policing a bridge too far? Is it a complete sell out of our Republican ideals? A friend of mine said to me the other day, if we forced the British government out of our country with armed force, one of our biggest problems was they were leaving behind an armed and sectarian force which is the RUC. Do we ignore policing or do we get involved? By ignoring policing are we leaving a repressive and sectarian police force solely in the hands of our enemies? I am giving my thoughts from Dublin so I don't have as much authority to speak on this matter as someone who has actually lost a loved one to the RUC. It is a massive and courageous decision for them. If I lost a loved one to this police force maybe I would be thinking differently. But let me explain my position. The area I am from in Dublin is over-run with anti-social behaviour and has one of the highest rates of gangland killings in Ireland. If you put a proposal to my community, giving them a say and some control over policing they would welcome it with open arms. That's not to say we will all of a sudden become part of this repressive police force. For example, a young lad from Crumlin, John Maloney junior was detained in Rathfarnham police station, less than an hour after his release he was found unconscious and later died in hospital. John's body was covered in bruises. However, the police denied they ever detained him. The family have tried their best to seek answers and sustain a campaign for justice. If our community had a say or some control over the police we would not endorse this. The exact opposite, we would condemn and exert pressure as a community on the police to have an inquest into his death. It would be the same anywhere in Ireland. In the coming months we could be in a totally different position. We could be dealing with a new Prime Minister in London, possible Gordon Brown. I don't know too much about him. But, we could also be dealing with a Kenny/Rabbitte Dublin government. We all know exactly what they are like because they have been in government before. It was the Labour/Fine Gael government that formed the heavy gang and also introduced media censorship on republicans. I will give you a quote which I think explains my position well; What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us. A lot of republicans, myself included are concerned with what lies within us. And I think policing has been used by republicans to show their anger and put their concerns about the overall state of our movement at present. We must now declare to the world what we are about. We must declare we are proud of the IRA and we would never be in this position without them. We must stop pandering to unionism, to Britain and to America. We must select public representatives that reflect our republican ideology. We must get our movement back on track. We must get back to basics. We must move forward demanding an end to partition and fighting for our socialist republic, bearing in mind the people who put us in this position and never forgetting their objectives. I will finish up with a quote from Charlie Kerins; All I ask is that the ideals and principles for which I am about to die, will be kept alive until the Irish republic is finally enthroned.                                               Index: Current Articles + Latest News and Views + Book Reviews + Letters + Archives

There is no such thing as a dirty word. Nor is there a word so powerful, that it's going to send the listener to the lake of fire upon hearing it. - Frank Zappa Printer Friendly Index: Current Articles 22 February 2007 Other Articles From This Issue: Litter & Glass Anthony McIntyre Not Worth the Paper Its Written On John Kennedy Ballot Box Pressure Mick Hall Commission of Truth Needed, Says O Hara Peggy O Hara RSF Election News Press Release Help Sinn Feign Brian Mór British Policing Must Never Be Acceptable in Ireland Francis Mackey The Next Step Dr John Coulter Conclusions from the Ard Fheis Brian Halpin McAleese Should be Criticised David Adams The Best Woman to Succeed Dr John Coulter Commander-In-Thief Fred A. Wilcox The Critical History of (Irish pop) Noise Seaghán Ó Murchú No Clean Hands Anthony McIntyre • 13 February 2007 • Compromise, Compromise, Compromise Helen McClafferty Collusion Martin Galvin The Heart of Collusion John Kennedy Bad Tactics Anthony McIntyre The Clothes Make the Man Mick Hall Follow the Leader John Kennedy Dry Your Eyes John Kennedy The Foreman Anthony McIntyre Mc Cain and Northern Ireland Fr. Sean Mc Manus Rumours of Retirement Dr John Coulter Policing Liam O Ruairc If MI5 rules, What was the 30-year war all about? John Kelly PRUC Service Brian Mór Nationalists Divided Over Sinn Fein Support for British Policing Paul Mallon Remember the B Specials? Dr John Coulter The Boyne Harriers Brian Mór Coming Full Circle Seaghán Ó Murchú The Need for an Anti-Imperialist United Front Philip Ferguson

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