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Can Sinn Fein Ever Support Police?
I don't pretend to understand the mindset of republicans. Frankly the self-important arrogance inherent in the idea that adding Northern Ireland to the 26 county republic is worth blowing up 29 innocent men, women and children (including 2 unborn children) in one afternoon is beyond comprehension. The callous belief that it's A-OK to shoot a 14 year old girl so you can blame the British defence forces and shoot a soldier in 'retaliation' is beneath contempt. I'll never understand that part of Irish republicanism, but it doesn't take a man with green blood flowing through his veins to realise that the provies are losing control of their ghettoes.
Sinn Fein say when Patten is fully implemented they will discuss policing. Frankly, having read about the events in Ardoyne over the past few days, and the police refusal to do anything, I can't imagine that Patten could have anything left to take away from them, but I'm sure Gerry and Coco will find something.
Why am I so sure? Think about it. Sinn Fein win votes by chastising the police service at every turn. Many of their voters have little time for any police force, let alone a "six-county puppet statelet extension of the British military presence in Ireland" one. The very fact that these men and women want to uphold the law is reason enough for swathes of republicans to reject them outright; the fact that it's British law is a convenient excuse, but there's much more to it than that.
Follow up:
It can already be seen from Ardoyne that Sinn Fein are losing control of the violent thug elements in their community, and those elements are substantial. If Sinn Fein stop being the enemy of the police they cross a big line. If they were to, God forbid, state a belief that Catholic should support and... even join the police service, they will become part of the establishment. None of those thugs will even listen to them any more. Not only will people stop listening to them, they might stop voting for them, and then some of Gerry's friends might lose those nice big Northern Ireland Assembly paypackets, and that would never do.
Have no sympathy for the provo-politicos though. This mess is all their own doing. With the birth of the PSNI, Sinn Fein were given a chance to back a new police service, to mould it into a representative and accountable police service. Despite their refusal to help this mission it seems that this is slowly happening (ok, so they can't police any more, but that's another story). Now - as I said this mess is their own fault. They had their chance to back a new police service. They had a choice to encourage Catholic membership, or to intimidate Catholic recruits. Republicans chose the latter and publicly denounced the "RUC/PSNI" at every turn. Now if they back track they appear like weak traitors.
So I ask - this accountability bullshit. Patten. Our police service is bending the knee to terrorists who launched terrorist assault after terrorist assault on them for decades and continued to intimidate recruits after the "ceasefire". They now appear impotent and incapable of keeping our streets safe and why? For what?
Sinn Fein can't ever accept a police service of any kind in Northern Ireland because the 'republican movemen' is wedded to criminality. Is it time we stopped trying? Our police service is bending over backwards to attract ordinary decent Catholics. There's no need to, and no point in, trying to win he nod of approval from die-hard insurrectionists and criminals.
Turkeys don't vote for Christmas.