Of there is one thing that has stood as a touchstone for the corrupt sectarian British • colony in the North of Ireland, it is the local police force, the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC).
The present troubles began with the RUC attacking( demonstrations, murdering Catholic civilians and leading sectarian pogroms into Catholic areas.
Later, when the leaders of been promoted to the most of the Fourth international the infamous riot squad had senior posts in the RUC, it spearheaded murder, torture, internment, shoot-to-kill and involvement in the loyalist campaign of random sectarian murder.
Recent allegations involved the murder of Human Rights lawyers Pat Finucane and Rosemary Nelson. The RUC watched indifferently Robert Hamill was beaten to death in the centre of Portadown.
Attempts to investigate the force came to nothing. Manchester police chief Tohn Stalker who tried to himself investigated, probe RUC KUU conduct and was wrongs.
evidence tor the stephens sive, enquiry disappeared in a mystery fire.
Now, following November's vote in the British parliament, the RUC hence.
has gone. Its name has been changed to the Northern Ireland Police Service.
That's it. Very little else has changed and the RUC remains essentially the RUC. longer need police force. argued, the restabilise RUC would RUC. lier in democratisation on the vine then it would no Irish capital.
La sectarian capital Britain's authority and negoIf, as Socialist Democracy tiates within the boundaries Good Friday of British interest. they have reached the limits Agreement was simply an of negotiation, the Irish capioffensive the sectarian talists must join immediately statelet, then in practice the with the British in enforcing remain the the deal and ensuring that there is no It had become clearer ear- backlash that could threaten the process that their own position. did not Nationalist family mean an end to emergency is powers and the strong state. "nationalist restricting democratic rights legislation the weapon of unity with secret was to be incorporated into common law, and the non- which Sinn Fein was to face jury Diplock courts were to down the British, comes into This was largely ignored by its own. Patten will be nationalist republicans. Their acceptance of the RUC. focus, and the focus of the The "Castle Catholics" who 'nationalist family', was on unionism the sense of already spoken out*. local control of the force and Catholic church has said that oversight support would be "premarestrain its tendency towards ture"
murder and open support is just around the corner.
It is this democratisation The that has been removed and, has made it clear that they unkindest cut of all for the support the amended Patten republicans, removed by the proposals. British state rather than as a that lobbying the British on result of unionst pressure. the implementation package The British government, as is the way forward - but of the current Bloody Sunday course that means supporthave never ing the package. that the role of Catholic in Brady set out the policy of coercion and that the role of nationalist the law is to protect their clearly at a religious service forces and obscure that real- County November 26.
To understand the process In his view occurring now in the aftermath of the Police Bill we progress. Police Bill. need to recognise the rela- been achieved by negotiationshin between British and them out.
recognises Earlier in the when Trimble was in difficulty just before the mass Once on the Good Friday vore agreement, Tony Blair issued a "letter of comfort" assuring the unionists that their sectarian privilege remain. Now a similar docuworking class ment, assuring SDLP supporters that Patten is alive, is to be released. There really is very little doubt which way the SDLP will jump. now that the family", Strategy political inn Fein's strategy S stands in terminal capital with decline.
promised that new administration The end point of in the North would be transitional, with equal weight given to "two traditions". Their ministers administer have a British statelet, forced to The fly the union flag from their They said they ministres. would hold power. - which means that can't even hold cross-border meetings without the mission of David Trimble. Dublin Government Now Patten, such as it was, turns out to be a dud. Their friend Bill Clinton is coming The SDLP say and the pressure is on for them to take another 'risk peace by moderating their opposition to the Police Bill. They are also expected surrender or publicly Bishop Sean destroy weapons.
Even then the unionist most right may bring Trimble and force the susLouth on pension of the executive.
Sinn Fein could break from Patten the Good Friday agreement So also was the and from the Progress had family' to stand against this rotten deal. To do so would the SDLP in government. There is still room for Sinn Fein in an alliance with Irish capital, but there is no room for any hint of republicanism. The reaction of the nationalists to the Police Bill demonstrates once again that there is not the slightest vestige of democracy in their programme and therefore own there 15 possibility of meeting the needs and aspirations of the working-class republican base. process, G erry Adams has already indicated shift in the party's direction by toning down initial absolute dismissals of the bill and shifting attenwould tion to army bases in South Armagh. The British have long held these bases back as a sweetener and would be likely to make some move to distract the republican base from further retreats. The Good Friday agreement and the Police Bill arising from it face no real challenge - yet for all this the They support of the republican the base is gradually disintegrat1ng. The agreement contains within itself no genuine democratic reform and thus guarantees that a section of the nationalist working class will continue in opposition. The nationalist support for the police now emerging They means that this working-class layer will have to break DCI- from capitalism to be effecTive *(Amongst these is Maurice Hayes. For years he was beyond the pale as the only top catholic civil servant in the Stormont regime. He was appointed to the Patten commission and used his position to urge immediate Catholic recruitment to the RUC. down We get some feeling for the Sinn Fein shift to the right when we hear that Bairbre de Bruin, Sinn Fein health minister, appointed Hayes to 'nationalist head an enquiry into health provision in the province).