The Five Demands

Sempre più cattolici si stanno unendo al PSNI, nonostante l’alto rischio di essere target delle violenze dei dissidenti repubblicani.
Paul Goggings, Ministro della Sicurezza in Irlanda del Nord, ha affermato che attualmente la percentuale di cattolici tra le file del PSNI ammonta al 26% e crede sia raggiungibile la quota del 30% entro il 2010/2011.
Quello di oggi rappresenta il risultato di maggior spessore da quando nel 2001 è stato introdotto il temporary provisions 50:50

Catholics still joining Northern Ireland police force despite attacks, says minister (The Guardian)
More Catholics are joining the police in Northern Ireland despite being targets for the Real IRA and Continuity IRA, a Cabinet minister revealedtoday .
Northern Ireland’s security minister Paul Goggins said that Catholic composition within the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) now stands at just over 26%, the highest level since the introduction of temporary 50:50 recruitment provisions in 2001.
In a written ministerial statement to the House of Commons, Paul Goggins underlined the government’s commitment to addressing the religious imbalance within the PSNI and confirmed that it is on course to reach the 30% composition target by 2010/11, as stated in the Patten Report, which set out reforms for the police service.
Over the past 18 months dissident terrorists have tried to kill a number of Catholic recruits to the PSNI.
He said: “Since the introduction of the temporary provisions in 2001, tremendous progress has been made towards a more representative police service and our ultimate goal of 30% Catholic composition. At the time of the Patten Report the Catholic composition was just 8.3%, today it is 26.14%.”
Dissident republicans meanwhile continued their campaign of disruption todaywith bomb alerts in Greater Belfast and on the main Belfast to Dublin rail line.
A police spokesman said the army’s bomb disposal squad was dealing with a suspect device on the Ligoneil Road in North Belfast this morning. The PSNI spokesman said that there was an ongoing security operation in west Belfast near St Aidan’s primary school, which remains closed today.
The PSNI said that an earlier bomb alert at Lurgan which caused disruption to the Belfast to Dublin rail line had now been declared a hoax. Security sources also blamed dissident republicans for the shooting of a man in Derry night.
The victim, convicted rapist Keith Burnside, 37, was wounded in the legs after armed and masked men broke into his house in the Rosemount area of the city. SDLP Derry councillor Pat Ramsey hit out at the gunmen.
Ramsey said: “I utterly condemn this attack. The people who carried out this shooting have no support from the local community and no place in a civilised society. The specific circumstances in of the shooting are still unclear I would encourage anyone with information on this incident to contact the PSNI immediately.”