The Five Demands

Dibattito tra Sinn Fein e Margaret Ritchie (SDLP)

“Quando Margaret Ritchie chiede che il servizio di intelligence dovrebbe essere situato all’interno della PSNI, significa in realtà  un ritorno al passato”, dice Alex Maskey del Sinn Fein perchè sarebbe quanto è accaduto con la Special Branch, “una forza all’interno di una forza, irresponsabile e intoccabile”.
Il portavoce del maggior partito repubblicano risponde così alle affermazione della Ritchie esternate ai media nella giornata di ieri.
In qualità di rappresentate del SDLP, partito che ha sempre manifestato una certa avversità nei confronti dello MI5, la Ritchie aveva dichiarato: “Credo che la comunità sarà molto più felice se la raccolta di elementi di intelligence sarà affidata alla PSNI, allora saranno in una posizione molto più libera di fornire tali informazioni al servizio di polizia”.
Un servizio di polizia, quello del Police Service of Northern Ireland, che si ritroverebbe gravato da un responsabilità ancora maggiore, in un momento in cui lo stesso Chief Constable Matt Baggott ha ammesso le gravi difficoltà dei suoi uomini nell’affrontare la recrudescenza dissidente.

Guarda il Video

Vodpod videos no longer available.
‘PSNI should replace MI5’ – Ritchie (U TV)
Sinn Fein have said they will oppose SDLP leader Margaret Ritchie’s suggestion that MI5 should step aside in Northern Ireland and let the PSNI spearhead the intelligence gathering process.
It comes as debate intensifies on how to tackle rising violence by dissident republicans after a weekend bomb attack in Lurgan in which three children escaped serious injury.
Ms Ritchie says MI5 just isn’t fit for the purpose in Northern Ireland.
She said: “I believe that the public will be much happier if intelligence gathering lay with the PSNI, then they will be in a much freer position to give that information to the police service.”
Sinn Fein spokesperson on policing issues Alex Maskey has said that his party would actively oppose her plan.
“When Margaret Ritchie calls for intelligence gathering to be located within the PSNI what she actually means is a return to the past,” he said.
“The practical outworking of what she is calling for is the embedding of MI5 into the PSNI.
“She is in effect calling for the malign influence of MI5 to be allowed to contaminate the new policing structures of the PSNI.
“We have of course been down this road before. It is what gave us the Special Branch as a force within a force, unaccountable and untouchable.”
DUP Justice Minister Nelson McCausland accused Ritchie of being opportunistic with her comments.
“Whether information comes through the police or whether it comes through MI5 I don’t care, as long as it is provided,” he said.
“There has been a long running campaign by the SDLP in relation to MI5 and I think this is just her taking the opportunity to make a party political point.”
Amid the calls for action against dissidents, PSNI Chief Constable Matt Baggott has claimed that dialogue with the groups would not necessarily be “a betrayal”.
Any efforts to talk to dissidents would have to come with strong conditions attached, he said, but ending violence was more than just a security issue.
“We are arresting and charging more than ever,” he told Irish broadcaster RTE, where he described cross-border police co-operation as “top class”.
“But clearly there has never been a 100% intelligence picture.
“What we have to do is relentlessly pursue them.”