Anti-Social Behaviour a Pretext for British Policing.

PRESS RELEASE: 32 County Sovereignty Movement.
25/07/2007.



Anti-Social Behaviour a Pretext for British Policing.


Provisional Sinn Féin's Conor Murphy has today led a delegation to meet with the RUC/PSNI in Newry to "discuss anti social behaviour" in the South Armagh area. This is part of a choreographed move on the part of Sinn Fein to bring the British Police force into the South Armagh area and anti social behaviour is being used as a convenient vehicle to do so.

During this past week it was seen as "necessary" to invite the RUC to a residents meeting in the village of Meigh to deal with anti social behaviour yet the 32 County Sovereignty Movement has been assured by several local residents that the village is quieter than it has been in many years. With this in mind it can only be concluded that this whole move by Sinn Féin is politically motivated rather than being done in the intrests of or driven by any genuine concern for local people.

In relation to today’s meeting in Newry Conor Murphy himself has stated that it is "essential that communities get the policing service that they are entitled to" adding that "a critical engagement between republican communities and the PSNI can help bring this about".

As members of the South Armagh community we would like to ask Conor Murphy the following. As part of this process will he demand that the community which he speaks for be urged to inform on republican separatists alleged to have been behind the planting of bombs in his constituency last week and will any further acts of resistance against the occupying forces be seen as acts of criminality? Sinn Féin needs to make their position on this clear to the people.

Murphy also stated that Sinn Féin wanted "to see the local community and criminal justice agencies, especially the PSNI, working together to ensure that people could live in peace and safety, free from intimidation, threat or violence."

As republicans the contradiction in the above quote is glaringly obvious. The RUC is the armed wing of the 6 county state and for many years has used intimidation threat and violence to maintain the illegal British presence in Ireland. Its primary function is to defend the status quo and it will no doubt continue to use such means in future against those who challenge this. As this challenge will inevitably come from republican separatists how is it possible that the RUC can offer any republican community "peace and safety, free from intimidation, threat or violence"?

Hopefully Conor Murphy can show the republicans in his constituency the same respect he now shows to the crown forces and address these concerns.

Kevin Murphy
PRO
32 County Sovereignty Movement
South Armagh