SDLP MLA Dolores Kelly urged to apologise for branding RUC ‘sectarian’

Retired police officers have called on the SDLP’s Dolores Kelly to apologise for claiming the Royal Ulster Constabulary represented “institutionalised sectarianism”.
RUC officers on duty in LondonderryRUC officers on duty in Londonderry
RUC officers on duty in Londonderry

The Upper Bann MLA was quoted in a newspaper article earlier this week as saying this week’s Police Service of Northern Ireland 20th anniversary was the perfect opportunity to recommit to the principle of a shared police force.

The NI Retired Police Officers’ Association (NIRPOA) responded, saying the remarked caused “gross offence” to thousands of former officers who served their community during very challenging times.

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In an open letter to Mrs Kelly, the NIRPOA said: “In this article you purportedly commented that the PSNI was a ‘significant departure from the institutionalised sectarianism represented by the RUC’.

Dolores KellyDolores Kelly
Dolores Kelly

“As the representative body for retired Police Officers in Northern Ireland I am writing to seek your immediate withdrawal of that remark, and an apology for the gross offence that you have caused to the thousands of members of the Royal Ulster Constabulary GC who served this community in the most challenging of times.

“You produced no evidence to support such a scurrilous remark and appear content to label an organisation that stood between deeply divided communities and prevented what many commentators considered was the potential for a civil war.”

According to the CAIN database of Troubles deaths, 301 RUC officers were killed from 1969 to 2001. Twenty-six of the murdered officers were Catholics.

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The letter adds: “Does your wholesale demonisation of the RUC extend to Constable Francis O’Reilly, the last RUC Officer murdered, by loyalists, as he protected nationalists in Portadown in 1998? A Catholic Officer murdered alongside Protestant colleagues.

“Or does it extend to the thousands of men and women who served the RUC from the Catholic community, many who lost family contact, who were shunned from within their own communities, who had to move homes because of the threat they then faced from within their own neighbourhoods, and were even denied the ability to play GAA, simply because they answered the call to serve our community?

“Does your demonisation extend to the Catholic officers, who, without fear or favour, stood alongside Protestant colleagues as they held firm against the most vicious public disorder in Northern Ireland, due to the failure of political leadership to find accommodation amongst opposing communities?

“Or does it extend to the senior leadership of the RUC or those in CID and Special Branch who, through courage and professionalism, prevented murder and mayhem on an industrial scale, and brought to justice terrorists in equal measure from republican and loyalist factions?

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“Is that the institutional sectarianism you mean? The organisation awarded the highest honour by Queen Elizabeth II for “the outstanding contribution made by the RUC to peace in Northern Ireland”?

“As an elected representative you have a right to freedom of expression – a right enabled by the brave sacrifice of our colleagues.

“You have the right to point to failures and errors in policing, which is more craft than science and delivered by imperfect men and women. But you also have a responsibility to use your voice with wisdom and honesty.

“Your words have caused deep hurt in our policing family; our widows and widowers, injured and disabled, have all felt the harsh edge of your words and collectively sigh at your willingness to so easily denigrate those who delivered the peace, we all enjoy.”

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It concludes: “As an association we call upon you to withdraw your comments and apologise for the hurt caused.”

Also responding to concerns raised by the Belfast Telegraph interview, Justice Minister Naomi Long spoke out at Stormont on Tuesday against those who would “trash” the reputation of the RUC.

She stressed that she wants to take “politics out of policing,” and added: “Frankly, it is not acceptable for anyone in the house... to undermine respect for policing. Many honourable people served in the RUC, and many of them gave their lives in the service of this community”.

In response, SDLP Policing Board member Mrs Kelly said: “The SDLP has previously paid tribute to the sacrifices made by many RUC officers and their families.

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“The fact remains that there were severe institutional problems within the RUC and this is a matter of public record.

“That many retired police officers continue to refuse to cooperate with legacy investigations to this day speaks for itself.

“The transformation of the RUC to the PSNI has been an outstanding success and whilst policing continues to be challenging I think the hard work and efforts of the those involved in implementing Patten’s recommendations deserve credit.”

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