Republicans
accuse the RUC of harassment and discrimination against Catholics
Policing,
Decommissioning, the Review of Criminal Justice and a Bill of Rights were
the contentious issues that could not be resolved within the context of
the multi-party talks that led to the Good Friday Agreement. Responsibility
for resolving these was placed in the hands of independent commissions:
The Independent Commission on Policing for Northern Ireland, the Independent
International Commission on Decommissioning, the Criminal Justice Review
Panel and the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission.
Policing
in Northern Ireland has always been divisive. Since the foundation of the
Northern Ireland state in 1921 the Catholic minority has constantly challenged
its political legitimacy. The Unionist government looked upon the Catholic
community as the enemy within and its overwhelmingly Protestant Royal Ulster
Constabulary (RUC) was used to suppress their political dissent.
Although
Catholics represent more than 40% of the Northern Ireland population they
comprise only 7% of RUC membership. This poor recruitment pattern has existed
since the inauguration of the RUC in May 1922. Opinions differ on why more
members of the Catholic community have not joined the RUC. Unionists believe
many want to but are deterred by republican intimidation. Catholics claim
they will not join a force that suppresses expressions of their culture
and identity and whose main purpose is to maintain unionist ascendancy.
Talk
of police reform has provoked feelings of anger and betrayal among the
unionist community who see the RUC as selfless defenders of their political
traditions against the violence of the Provisional IRA and the political
ambitions of the nationalist and republican community. The RUC present
themselves as an impartial enforcer of the law and one of the best police
forces in the world. Since 1969, 302 RUC officers have been killed and
several thousand maimed.
Similar feelings of anger are found among the Catholic community who accuse
the RUC of harassment and discrimination, of engaging in a shoot to kill
policy and colluding with loyalist paramilitaries in the murder of Catholics.
