Republican News · Thursday 13 February 2003

Police Board sanctions use of CS gas

Sinn Féin MP Michelle Gildernew has accused the North's Policing Board of giving the go ahead to PSNI proposals to arm themselves with weapons of repression.

At its monthly board meeting on Thursday 6 February, the Policing Board endorsed the PSNI's call to be allowed to use CS gas

The board's chair, Desmond Rea, said the spray will only be used in very particular circumstances and is not intended for use in serious public order situations. He added that the Board had pressed for strict guidelines on the use of the sprays "to be able to deliver effective and efficient policing through a range of equipment to deal with all types of situations".

unimpressed Gildernew told An Phoblacht that "since the formation of the PSNI the current Policing Board has presided over the issuing of a new and more lethal plastic bullet and now they have gave the green light to the use of CS gas. To many in the nationalist community who have direct experience of the PSNI and their forerunners in the RUC, this is a worrying development.

"The vast majority of PSNI members have excused themselves from the Human Rights oath and those who abused human rights in the past moved en masse into the new force. With this sort of background and make up, it is not surprising that the PSNI is continuing to arm itself with all available weapons of repression."