Northern Ireland Quotations :: Security Forces

"The Irish Constabulary .. was trained on semi-military lines, its officers were men who had held commissioned rank in the British Army or who had entered the force as cadets, specially selected for their education and class background. No ordinary constable, unless he were a an of outstanding merit, could hope to advance higher than the rank of sergeant of head-constable. In 1867 this force was renamed the Royal Irish Constabulary, a recognition by Queen Victoria of its success in dealing with the Fenian rising." [Holy War]

"The force [he] was joining had never been an ordinary police force. It had been born out of the Irish conflict in 1921: after the partition of the island, it had been specially set up to defend Northern Ireland against IRA attacks. This meant that it was as much a paramilitary force, armed and equipped like an army, as a police force." p. 35.

"After a government enquiry [after riots caused fatalities and the Army was sent to intervene] the RUC, traditionally dominated by Protestants, had been disarmed, and its militia, the B-Specials - perceived as a sectarian force and feared by Catholics - had been abolished."p. 35.

Steve Bruce

Security Forces

"The General Officer Commanding Northern Ireland [GOC] has been instructed to take all necessary steps, acting impartially between citizen and citizen, to restore law and order. Troops will be withdrawn as soon as this is accomplished. This is a limited operation and during it the troops will remain in direct and exclusive control of the GOC, who will continue to be responsible to the United Kingdom Government .. The Ireland Act of 1949 affirms that neither Northern Ireland nor any part of it will in any event cease to be part of the United Kingdom without the consent of the Parliament of Northern Ireland, and the United Kingdom reaffirms the pledges given that this will remain the position so long as the people of Northern Ireland wish." 13.08.1969

"By the end of 1973, the Provisionals' success rate had slumped .. But as Sir Frank King moved his campaign into high gear there developed the old 'Catch 22' situation. A great deal of the Army's success was due to better information and intelligence, and a lot of this was gathered by close contact, using intensive patrolling and searching. At the same time, these constant searches, both on the streets and in homes, were perhaps the biggest single bone of contention amongst Catholics which contributed to their dislike of the Army ."

"There was also a strong realistic streak running through the Army thinking: that there were many men of extreme views within the UDR who might be better kept under observation in a uniformed unit, where they could be kept under some form of control ."

Pig In the Middle

"From its birth the UDR did not introduce tight enough controls to ensure that prospective recruits were not members of paramilitary groupings .. dual membership of the UDR and UDA was acceptable to the military authorities."

"Over 100 members of the [UDR] have been convicted of serious offences including murder, attempted murder, causing explosions and having explosive substances." Dirty War p. 220.

"The British are protagonists in a developing conflict which has tied their troops into urban warfare, occasionally exposed them to international criticism for undemocratic practices, brought them to the Court of Human Rights, and damaged British interests in North America. p. 206.

Martin Dillon

"Initially the UDR was successful in recruiting Catholics. In the first years 18% were Catholics, but by 1978 thus had fallen to only 3%, where it has remained since. No doubt some of that change represented minority disillusionment with the politics and composition of the force, but a lot of it was due to the IRA’s campaign of intimidation of Catholics who supported the state by joining the security forces or the RUC or accepted positions on the bench ."

"There is a curious consonance of interests between loyalist paramilitaries and republicans, in that both with to present the UDA and UVF and simply the security forces off duty. Republicans wish to show that, far from being neutral keepers of the peace, the RUC and UDR and active in the oppression of the Catholic people .. The UDA and UVF have an interest in pressing the same suit, but for the quite different reason that they want to claim legitimacy by showing that they have had within their ranks men who have served their country in more ‘official’ capacities ."

"There are a number of different sorts of overlap between the paramilitaries and Crown forces. The security forces may cooperate actively with loyalists by training, arming and joining them in murders. If they are not taking an active part, army and police personnel may still offer a great deal of low-level assistance, from providing information to turning a blind eye, and in such ways make the jobs of the UVF and UDA men easier. In a third type of overlap, loyalists use the security forces by infiltrating them and taking advantage of the resources that are available to the state."

The Red Hand, Steve Bruce

Special Branch officer 1988: "None of these operations were set up with a deliberate aim of killing anyone, but because of the firepower in the hands of the terrorists and their willingness to use it their deaths were unavoidable." p. 164.

Phoenix

The juridical sovereignty of states remains unchallenged. States retain a monopoly on the legitimate use of force. Therefore states have a right to bear arms. The rights of states to use force in their self-defence is well ingrained in international law. However, the right of states to take whatever action they deem appropriate against their own populations has been regularly challenged by the international community in the last decade .