Sinn Fein Youth stages RUC protests
by Deirdre Feehan
Sinn Fein Youth staged simultaneous pickets on Saturday 25 July
calling for the disbandment of the RUC outside the Springfield
Road RUC Barracks in West Belfast and the Oldpark Barracks in the
north of the city.
SFY spokesperson Aidan Ferguson said, ``We have organised these
protests to highlight the ongoing campaign of harassment by the
RUC against young nationalists throughout Belfast. Despite the
Good Friday document and the setting up of the Assembly,
harassment continues to be a daily reality for young people in
Belfast. We want this to stop immediately.''
Ferguson concluded ``The Good Friday document and the institutions
it involves are meant to be about creating a better society for
us all. How can we as young republicans have confidence in those
institutions if our experience is one of state sponsored
harassment and violence. It is time the RUC were disbanded and
the Assembly set about creating a democratic, accountable, non
violent and community led policing service.''
As part of their ongoing campaign, SFY have sent 1,200
signatures, in two batches, to the office of Adam Ingram calling
for the disbandment of the RUC. In a letter addressed to the
security minister, Adam Ingram, SFY national organiser Eoin
O'Broin said ``the recent behaviour of the RUC has reached new
levels of unacceptability. Despite the Good Friday document,
despite the Assembly and despite our support for the current
political process we continue to be victims of intimidation,
abuse and harassment. Adam Ingram, as a minister for security, is
directly responsible for this, only he has the power to ensure it
stops. We are calling for a meeting with him to make our demands
quite clear. We want an to end harassment, we want an end to
intimidation, we want an end to the RUC.''
![[An Phoblacht]](http://republican-news.org/graphics/title_gifs/aprn.gif)