Republicans take no satisfaction in the death of anyone; the death of PSNI/RUC member Ronan Kerr does not fill republicans with joy, quite the opposite in fact. The continued occupation means that while regrettable, further deaths of those who shore up and defend that occupation are inevitable. In order to instigate a real peace process in Ireland those ultimately responsible for the occupation i.e. the British government need to address the root cause of the Irish conflict, the continued violation of Irish national sovereignty.
The great and the good within the catholic church, the GAA and constitutional nationalism have predictably lined up to sing in unison with the British administration in Ireland. It would seem that they are using the death of Ronan Kerr to their own advantage. It is important to note that many of those who now condemn the killing of a member of the British police in Ireland once actively resisted their presence whether catholic or protestant. It is not that long ago that the GAA refused to allow members of the British security forces to be members of their organisation. Michael Ferguson, a 21 year old catholic RUC man from Omagh was shot dead a number of years ago in Shipquay Street outside Dunnes Stores by the IRA. Far from calling on the people of Derry to inform on the perpetrators of this attack a prominent Provisional politician from this city ordered the fire bombing of Dunnes Stores exactly one week later to prevent the RUC from carrying out a reconstruction in to this young officer’s death.
This same power junkie can now be seen regularly with the discredited British police commander Matt Baggot condemning current IRA actions.
It is no surprise to republicans that the Catholic Church has stood behind the forces of occupation and partition; they have a long history of this. Dan Breen executed two catholic Irish speaking RIC members during the tan war; the catholic hierarchy said that hell wasn't hot enough for the perpetrators. A lot has been made of the fact that Ronan Kerr was a catholic, Tom Williams went to the gallows for killing a catholic RUC man, how can he be a republican hero and Ronan Kerr be a modern day hero, how can those who killed Kerr be "worse than traitors"?
The British administration in Ireland constantly claim that republicans are using young men as pawns for their own selfish political ends, what was that same administration doing with young Ronan Kerr, selling him the glory of serving his community in a British uniform. The reality is that death means nothing to the British whether in Ireland, Afghanistan or Libya. Hundreds have died in the last few weeks at the hands of the British and their allies with their cruise missiles yet none of them are worthy of a mention. Young men like Ronan Kerr are pawns being used by the British and their local allies to shore up a failed internal settlement.
While everyone is entitled to their own opinions on the killing of Ronan Kerr we must expose the hypocrisy of those seeking to use his death to harm the republican position. It has always been the republican position that all death is regrettable and all deaths of this nature can be avoided by the causes of conflict being confronted rather than ignored.
The RUC/PSNI have been repeatedly harassing and abusing republicans for years. The PSNI’s primary role is to enforce British rule on a section of the Irish people. When young Irish men and women join the British police force in Ireland the dangers involved can not be lost on them. Those who constantly encourage young people to join the PSNI in the full knowledge of the dangers involved cannot shirk the moral responsibility when deaths like that of Ronan Kerr occur. Peter Robinson’s deputy Martin Mc Guinness has called for people to inform on republicans. The question that should be asked of Mc Guinness is that people who may have information on those who killed Michael Ferguson in Shipquay Street in 1993 inform on Volunteers who carried out the attack, if not, why not!!
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