There are serious implications for Crossmaglen if policing closure plan goes ahead

A letter from Kenny Donaldson:
By Editorial
Published 2nd Sep 2021, 11:53 BST
Updated 2nd Sep 2021, 12:01 BST
An army helicopter lands in Crossmaglen in 2000. Now the village has more terrorism displays than it ever hadAn army helicopter lands in Crossmaglen in 2000. Now the village has more terrorism displays than it ever had
An army helicopter lands in Crossmaglen in 2000. Now the village has more terrorism displays than it ever had

As someone whose family belongs to the Crossmaglen and south Armagh area I am saddened from a personal perspective as the PSNI policing proposal for the area.

Am I surprised? No, I am not because the PSNI hierarchy have form in these issues, in Londonderry/Derry and in other areas of the country.

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Once again, we are seeing an entirely disproportionate response to a PSNI gaffe; a Christmas photo taken at the most southerly police station in Northern Ireland ‑ Crossmaglen where the chief constable and other officers were pictured with weapons, and which was then uploaded onto Twitter.

Letter to the editorLetter to the editor
Letter to the editor

The speed at which the chief constable issued a grovelling apology, ordered an ‘independent’ review which proposes to close the station along with move memorials which honour police personnel murdered by terrorists is quite staggering.

There are very serious implications if the PSNI persist with this policy concerning Crossmaglen PSNI station, the village has more vestiges of terrorism through new forms of public memorialisation, graffiti, flags and other displays than it ever has had. If the PSNI pull out of the station, then they are effectively abandoning the area to the Provisional IRA.

The same people who call for community policing models to be applied in the area are silent concerning the cold house impact of the many ‘political’ displays of Irish republican idolatry found throughout the village.

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What has the PSNI done to remove these illegal displays of terrorism idolatry? To even contemplate to move the memorials is disrespectful to the memory of those who laid down their lives in the furtherance of policing and their surviving families.

There currently exists a deficit of a trust between large swathes of the community towards the PSNI — the PSNI has grossly overplayed its’ hand in placating republicanism. We met previously with the chief constable and warned him of this misjudgement but sadly this fiasco wreaks of more of the same.

No memorials should be moved in the police station and the proposed closure should also be taken off the table.

Kenny Donaldson, South East Fermanagh Foundation (SEFF has a Sth Armagh outreach service based from Bessbrook)

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Related topics:ArmaghNorthern IrelandDerryBen LowryTwitter