An umbrella group led by ex republican prisoners opposed to backing the PSNI is due to meet in the Gasyard Centre next Monday to plan a strategy ahead of the Assembly elections in March.
An umbrella group led by ex republican prisoners opposed to backing the PSNI is due to meet in the Gasyard Centre next Monday to plan a strategy ahead of the Assembly elections in March.
The recently formed 'Ex-POWs and Concerned Republicans' group have claimed that Sinn Fein's endorsement of the PSNI has served only to "copperfasten British Rule in the six counties".
Spokesman for the group, ex-IRA prisoner, Danny McBrearty, this week invited "like-minded" people in Derry and beyond to join them to agitate support for anti-PSNI candidates against Sinn Fein candidates ahead of the election.
"Gerry Adams has now said that the logical thing for young republicans to do is join the RUC/PSNI and for the nationalist/republican community to collude with the Historical Enquiries Team about events during the war. This means that anyone who ever had a history of helping any republican organisation in the past may now come under scrutiny from this group," he said.
However, Mr McBrearty stressed that the new umbrella republican group has no problem with the PSNI solving "certain crimes" in the republican community. "We do not have a problem with our community using the RUC/PSNI force to solve certain crimes against them such as rape, death drivers, child molesters, drug pushers, assaults on our elderly and the vulnerable in our society.
"We are not anti-policing, the problem we have is in joining the British crown forces," he said.
Mr McBrearty was also keen to point out that the new group is not aligned to any political party or indeed any other republican organisation. He also spoke out against the recent death threats made to members of Sinn Fein.
"We would like to distance ourselves from any so-called death threats or use of violence towards anyone."
He added: "As a grouping in our infancy we call on all like-minded people to attend a meeting in the Gasyard Centre on Monday, February 5 at 7.30 p.m.
"As last weekend's Bloody Sunday march proved, we have substantial support in our community."
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Friday 25 May 2012
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