Republicans criticise PSNI actions

The PSNI police have been accused of acting ‘in a brutal manner’ during an incident in a County Derry village in the early hours of Saturday morning when three men, one of them suffering from cerebral palsy, were arrested.

The mother and wife of the men arrested in the village of Cornshell Fields said the PSNI had arrived at the door of the family home to say they had received an allegation against her son.

“Before I had a chance to open the door when they knocked they came in and they were very hyper and aggressive,” she said.

“They were shouting and pushed one of my sons up against the wall. My other son, the one they wanted to talk to was in the toilet, and I told them that but they continued to behave very aggressively.

“When my son appeared they grabbed him, pulled him out to the garden and banged his head of a fence. My husband came down the stairs and went out to see what was happening and they grabbed him as well.

“My other son, who suffers from cerebral palsy was then grabbed and they hit him across the back and they arrested him. I had to dive and try and protect my other son. It was absolutely disgusting the way the police behaved.

“After a couple of hours they brought my son with cerebral palsy back and they acted as if they were doing me a favour. He has been very upset since then and can’t understand what is happening.”

Neighbours watched in amazement as family members were violently dragged from the home.

“At this point landrovers arrived and it was just complete chaos,” said one resident. “The police seemed to have no respect for anyone else in the area. It seems ridiculous that police would send so many officers to the one scene when there was very little trouble to begin with.”

A spokesperson for the 32 County Sovereignty Movement said: “After a recent incident with a former councillor politicians and clergy fell over themselves to condemn it yet after an incident like this their silence is deafening.”

CROSSMAGLEN MEETING

Meanwhile, in South Armagh, there was controversy following a meeting of local Sinn Féin MP Conor Murphy and PSNI officials in Crossmaglen last week.

“I agreed to facilitate a critical engagement between community representatives and the PSNI so that the community can put their views to them very strongly, and hear from them, as to how they intend to effectively tackle the issues involved,” said Mr Murphy.

“The community, having been confronted with serious incidents of anti-social violence and criminality firmly believes that the PSNI response to tackling what is happening, has, at best, been totally inadequate.”

Republican Sinn Féin, however, described the meeting as “an act of collaboration with the British Crown Forces.”

A spokesperson for Republican Sinn Féin said:”The simple fact remains that the greatest crime perpetrated against the Irish people is the ongoing British occupation.

“Whilst Mr Murphy and his party continue to prove their pro-British credentials, the Irish people continue to suffer what James Connolly described as a crime against human progress.

“The people of Crossmaglen, and throughout Ireland, must now reject the arrogance and duplicity of the Provos, and join with Republican Sinn Féin to create a new Ireland free from foreign interference.”

Urgent Appeal