Maskey rubbishes Durkan's policing stance
Sinn Féin's Alex Maskey has rubbished comments made by Mark Durkan during a speech delivered in Oxford on Tuesday.
The SDLP leader had claimed that while others stood on the sidelines, his party had worked to prevent the British government from diluting the Patten Commission's recommendations for creating a new policing service.
"This remark is nonsense," said Maskey. "It has been Sinn Féin that has consistently called for amending legislation. Others, including the SDLP, told us this was not possible."
Accusing Durkan of indulging in 'tabloid politics', Maskey pointed out that despite claims to the contrary, the power to determine the policing issue remains with the British government. "The SDLP can influence this, so can Sinn Féin and the Irish government, but only if they row together," said Maskey. "Unfortunately, the SDLP chose to abandon the consensus which had been achieved. There is of course the dawning realisation in the SDLP of what they have actually done. They now have responsibility for the human rights abusers they have inherited but no control or accountability over them."
The Sinn Féin Assembly member pointed out that the SDLP have inherited the Special Branch, and their involvement in collusion, shoot-to-kill and cover-ups. "They have also inherited the Special Branch agents who are also members of the loyalist death squads," said Maskey, "and they have inherited 40,000 plastic bullets. The SDLP are now desperately trying to defend their untenable position. They have lost the hearts and minds argument within the nationalist community on this issue."
Meanwhile, members of the RUC/ PSNI were spotted removing Sinn Féin posters about policing in the Markets area of Belfast on Monday night. Just hours earlier, Sinn Féin had launched a new Six-County wide poster campaign critical of current policing arrangements.
"Within one hour of our activists putting up posters, the PSNI were seen removing them," said Maskey. "This is unacceptable behaviour and underlines that this force is, indeed, a political force and not an impartial service.
"This is the latest in a long line of incidents involving the PSNI in the South Belfast area and underlines the fact that despite the name change, they have not changed as a force."
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