The Five Demands

Secondo l’autorevole voce di Robert Whalley il 2009 è stato un anno duro per affrontare la gestione della sicurezza durante il periodo delle marce.

Whalley, dall’alto della sua esperienza nel Justice and Security Act ha affermato risolutamente: “Altri avranno le proprie opinioni sulle parate di quest’anno, ma il mio giudizio è che sia stato il più difficile degli ultimi anni”.
Continua con un’interessante analisi sulla “calda estate” del 2009:  “La violenza che ha avuto luogo ad Ardoyne la sera del 13 luglio, ed il suo protarsi con successo per due intere notti, è stata la peggiore che Belfast abbia visto da diversi anni, e ci sono stati problemi ad Armagh, Lurgan, Rasharkin e Strabane.”
Whalley, pertanto, rinnova i complimenti alle forze di polizia che hanno evitato incidenti senza l’aiuto dell’esercito.

Marching season ‘most difficult’ (BBC News Northern Ireland)
The 2009 Northern Ireland marching season was the “most difficult” in recent history, independent security reviewer Robert Whalley has said.
Mr Whalley monitors the operation of the Justice and Security Act (NI) 2007.
He observed the policing and handling of parades and watched CCTV coverage of rioting at Ardoyne in north Belfast.
“Others will have their own views on parading activity this year, but my own judgement is that it has been the most difficult in the recent past,” he said.
“The violence which took place in the Ardoyne on the evening of 13 July, and over the succeeding two nights, was the worst seen in Belfast for several years, and there was trouble in Armagh, Lurgan, Rasharkin and Strabane.
“There were also incidents in Londonderry on 8 August.
“But the Ardoyne violence was not on the scale of the violence there in 2004 or the Whiterock disturbances of 2005.”
He said that thousands of parades took place without incident and the reflected “great credit” on all those involved.
He said that while police managed to control the parading season without the need for Army support “military assets” based in England with public order training were available as a back-up.
He said that the “assessment had not yet this year reached the point where such an option could be totally ruled out”.
Mr Whalley said that helicopter flying remained a contentious issue and complaints were up 46% to 124 compared to 85 in 2008.
He said that the low-level training was as essential skill for air crew being sent overseas, mainly to Afghanistan, and that they had “avoid” lists.
“Avoiding causing nuisance is a key consideration for the crew, but it is not the main point of their training, which is to prepare them for the challenges in much more hostile theatres overseas,” he said.
He the military should give “further consideration to making available as much advance information as possible about planned helicopter flights”.