Ulster Protestants have had many hurtful and insulting injustices
heaped upon their shoulders by insensitive British Governments
during the past 30 years, but none more so than the nauseating
50-50 policy imposed on recruitment to the Police Service
of Northern Ireland.
What other country in Western Europe, or indeed in the civilised
world would be forced to accept such a discriminatory practice
relating to recruitment for its police service?
This policy has just been adopted for another three years,
and it will mean that Protestants, the majority community
in Northern Ireland, will be forced to take their chance in
the 'Other' category if they want to join the PSNI.
Roman Catholics, who make up about 44 per cent of the Northern
Ireland population will have 50 per cent of the places on
the PSNI set aside for applications from that section of the
community.
But Protestants will have to scramble for places along with
Hindus, Moslems, Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons, agnostics,
atheists and others.
How can such a policy be justified? The excuse trotted out
is that this 'positive discrimination' is needed to bring
the Roman Catholic percentage of the PSNI up to 30 per cent.
Protestants have no difficulty with a police force which
has 30 per cent Roman Catholics. But they do object as to
how this is brought about. Why should young men and women
with the necessary qualifications be denied the opportunity
to make a career on the police because they happen to be Protestants?
It's grossly unfair, and those who support this policy cannot
argue that there was discrimination against Roman Catholics
joining the Royal Ulster Constabulary.
Many brave Roman Catholics did serve in the RUC, and did
so with integrity. There never was a problem in the majority
population about this, and in fact when the RUC was formed
in 1921, one-third of the places on the new police service
were set aside for Roman Catholics.
The fact that the percentage was never reached is not the
fault of Unionists or the Northern Ireland State. It was because
Roman Catholics who joined the RUC were subjected to intimidation
within their own communities.
The reduction of numbers in the Northern Ireland policing
service since Patten has been detrimental to the country.
This is obvious, with the huge numbers of burglaries, assaults,
car thefts, and other crimes.
All this has taken place against a background of closure
of many police stations, and the absence of police officers
on the beat in cities and towns in the province.
With so many officers jobs axed, it means that applicants
for the PSNI are competing for a much smaller number of jobs,
and due to the 50-50 recruitment, it puts Protestants at a
complete disadvantage.
Some readers have asked why there is no similar legislature
south of the border, guaranteeing a percentage of Protestants
on the Gardai.
The simple answer is that the Republic of Ireland, while
insisting on the right to have a say in the affairs of Northern
Ireland, has never conceded the right of the British or anyone
else to have any input on how it governs its affairs.
It has all been one-way traffic, and the UK has leaned over
backwards not to offend the Republic by focussing attention
on discrimination against Protestants, or any other section
of its population.
Unionist politicians must continue to put the spotlight on
the 50-50 recruitment for the PSNI. It is a policy that cannot
be defended by any criteria other than to keep forcing Protestants
into the corner in their own country, and should not have
been renewed.
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