Patten quizzed at U.S. Congress
| |
How can you speak of reform? The RUC needs to be disbanded. It makes no sense to attempt all of this change. [Chris Patten] is talking about ten years, percentages - this won't work.
Congressman Donald Payne
|
Chris Patten, chair of the report into policing in the Six Counties, was last week informed in Washington, D.C., that he was sitting in the same chair in which murdered solicitor Rosemary Nelson had sat just under a year ago, to the day.
The Congressional Sub-Committee on International Operations and Human Rights, under the chairmanship of Comgressman Chris Smith, was holding the fourth of a series of hearings on the issues of Policing and Human Rights in the Six Counties on Thursday, 23 September.
Congressman Smith made note of the positive aspects of the report but was highly critical of the commissioners' ``omissions'', including the lack of a vetting process to remove RUC members who have committed serious violations of human rights, and the report's failure to address the threats to defence attorneys by police.
When asked about the lack of such a vetting process, Chris Patten replied that he wanted to avoid a ``witch-hunt''. Later on, Congressman Smith said that ``to suggest that (such a vetting process) would be a witch-hunt is nonsensical''.
Other members of Congress in attendance were Chairman of the House International Relations Committee, Benjamin Gilman, William Delahunt, Donald Payne, Peter King, Cynthia McKinney, Jack Quinn, Dennis Kucinich, Richard Neal, Sam Gejdenson, Joe Crowley and William Coyne.
While every member who spoke commended the hard work and dedication of Chris Patten and his commission, not one failed to make clear their hope that this report should be considered the ``floor, and not the ceiling'', of the change that must come.
Congressman Gilman called the report ``a good first step'' and insisted that full implementation by the British government of the recommendations should be just the beginning, not the end of reform of the RUC.
He continued: ``The Patten report leaves some serious gaps that will make that new future for policing in the North difficult. For example, not calling for weeding out of bad apples who have abused human rights in the past and for new leadership at the top, will make the real reform hard to bring about.''
Other members pointed to the report's failure to call for the banning of plastic bullets or for the repeal of emergency legislation as some of its more significant shortcomings. Congressman Donald Payne asked: ``How can you speak of reform? The RUC needs to be disbanded. It makes no sense to attempt all of this change. [Chris Patten] is talking about ten years, percentages - this won't work.''
Congressman Dennis Kucinich said: ``A mechanism for the enforcement of high principles (human rights) would rely on a willingness of this mechanism, this system, to tolerate challenges to its deficiencies.
``Human rights attorneys challenged the system prior to the report - ten years ago Pat Finucane was murdered for challenging the system. Ten years later, when people were speaking of change, Rosemary Nelson was murdered.
``Because this report ignores these issues, because this report does not recommend inherent mechanisms for vetting, it is going to have difficulties being effective. We need to let attorneys who want to stand up now and protect human rights that they are protected. None of that is in (the Patten Report).''
Patrick Finucane's son, Michael Finucane, also testified. He said: ``The report of the Patten Commission makes specific mention time and again of the RUC officers who were killed during their period of service and how their families should now be accommodated. But it does not recommend anything for the benefit of those who have been murdered either by the RUC, or with the assistance and collusion of the RUC. Why is this? Does the report seek to distinguish between `classes of victims'?
``The report also ignores the fact that the very officers who engaged in activities of intimidation and abuse are still serving with the RUC. Furthermore, the report proposes no mechanism for ridding the new police service of these officers. It does not even recommend that they should account for their years of serial abuse of human rights.
``I can categorically state that, given the Patten Report's absence of recommendations in this area, given the continued absence of effective government proposals, and given a complete lack of any commitment to stringent measures to deal with this problem, defence lawyers in Northern Ireland are still in trouble, the worst kind of trouble - their very lives are on the line.''
Sinn Féin Representative to the United States, Rita O'Hare said after the hearing: ``The contribution to the search for justice and peace in Ireland made by Congressman Smith, Congressman Gilman and their committees, by their continued attention to the crucial issue of policing, was demonstrated again today. The depth of knowledge and understanding displayed by all the Congressional Representatives in attendance was striking and is a measure of their commitment to this core issue.''
![[An Phoblacht]](http://republican-news.org/graphics/title_gifs/aprn.gif)