[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 4]
[House]
[Page 5345]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  POLICING REFORMS IN NORTHERN IRELAND

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, last week the Helsinki Commission, also 
known as the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, held a 
hearing on the issue of policing in Northern Ireland. I want to commend 
the commission for holding this hearing on this timely issue and to add 
my voice to a growing list of influential individuals who have called 
on the British Government to reform the police service of Northern 
Ireland.
  Madam Speaker, 6 years ago this month, the people of Northern 
Ireland, Great Britain, and the Republic of Ireland entered into a 
peace agreement, commonly referred to as the Good Friday Agreement. 
This legendary accord set out a framework that would allow Northern 
Ireland to govern itself and provide for a rule of law that was 
responsible to all people in the north of Ireland. Unfortunately, 6 
years later, much of the agreement has either been stalled, derailed, 
or simply never implemented.
  Most notably, the one issue that the British Government has refused 
to address after the signing of the Good Friday Agreement is that of 
police reform. For a true and lasting peace to exist in Northern 
Ireland, reforming the police service is a must.
  Madam Speaker, the Good Friday Agreement gave the people of Northern 
Ireland great hope that they would see a change in the way policing is 
handled. Soon after the agreement was signed, the British Government 
commissioned Christopher Patten to review the police service in 
Northern Ireland. The Patten Commission spent months researching past 
abuses by the Royal Ulster Constabulary. Eventually they recommended 
several reforms to policing in Northern Ireland, including the end of 
the ``Special Branch'' of the Royal Ulster Constabulary and also to 
begin a program that would recruit ethnic and religious minorities into 
the police service and create a process of civil review.
  While the Patten Commission recommendations did not address all of 
the policing issues in Northern Ireland, they were a good starting 
point. Unfortunately, to date, Great Britain has not instituted any of 
these reforms.
  Policing in Northern Ireland is not only an issue of fairness but 
also of basic human rights. Following the signing of the Good Friday 
Agreement, the British Government dissolved the Royal Ulster 
Constabulary and replaced it officially with the Police Service of 
Northern Ireland. Unfortunately, this new police service is the same 
old, same old, with a new fancy name. What we really find when we look 
below the surface of its new name is that the Police Service of 
Northern Ireland is no more representative or fair than the Royal 
Ulster Constabulary.
  The Police Service of Northern Ireland remains unrepresented of the 
communities it polices. There are presently over 9,000 members. 
However, as of October, 2003, only 11.6 percent are Catholic while 
nearly one-half of all residents of Northern Ireland call themselves 
Catholic.
  And the Police Service has also refused to stop using plastic 
bullets. Patten recommended research into alternatives to these 
inhumane policing tools and the rapid withdrawal of their use, and the 
British Government also gave a commitment to replace plastic bullets by 
the end of 2003. But today plastic bullets continue to be used by the 
police service.
  The people of Northern Ireland do not feel safe and rarely rely on 
their public police services. Citizens are not calling the Police 
Service of Northern Ireland when they need assistance. They are afraid 
that the police will violate their rights rather than protect them in 
their time of need.
  Madam Speaker, I call on Prime Ministers Blair and Ahern to fully 
implement the Good Friday Agreement and immediately institute the 
Patten Commission's recommendations. For a lasting peace to survive in 
Northern Ireland, the Good Friday Agreement must be given the chance to 
fully succeed.
  Unfortunately, the peace process cannot move forward. A small faction 
of individuals in Northern Ireland, many who are adamantly opposed to 
the accords, are holding the future of the peace agreement hostage. 
They have been successful in influencing the British Government to put 
the agreement and the power-sharing government on hold and therefore 
putting the Good Friday Agreement and the fragile peace in a very 
dangerous position.
  Most recently these opponents have convinced Britain not to seek the 
new Belfast Assembly, even though elections were held 4 months ago. 
These elections, which saw record turnouts, were finally held this past 
November. However, to date, Prime Minister Blair has refused to 
reinstitute the Belfast Assembly.
  Madam Speaker, as one can easily observe, the peace in Northern 
Ireland is hanging by a thread. Prime Minister Blair and Irish Prime 
Minister Bertie Ahern must bring all sides back to the table and 
reinstitute the Belfast Assembly.
  Peace in Northern Ireland is finally within our grasp. The parties 
involved, which all signed those historic accords some 6 years ago, 
must now just live up to the agreement and allow the people of Northern 
Ireland to govern themselves freely and fairly.

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