Speaking at an Orange Order event in Castlederg,
Co. Tyrone, on Friday, June 6, the Grand Master Robert Saulters
said:
"I am delighted to be here in County Tyrone where I
know that Orangeism is strong and flourishing. Unfortunately
the same cannot be said about our police who are anything
but strong and flourishing in this county and in neighbouring
Fermanagh.
"The police are reducing the number of stations in border
areas and it is the people who live in those areas, who will
pay the price. Not far from here, stations in Newtownstewart,
Sion Mills and Donemana, have either been closed or will be
closed in the near future.
"There is the prospect that the whole of Fermanagh will
soon be policed from three stations.
"It is a ridiculous situation and I know many police
officers who are very unhappy. They have built up local knowledge
over many years but now that pool of intelligence will be
wiped out at the stroke of a pen.
"We live in a world where the budget is more important
that the bobby on the beat.
"It is an insult to our intelligence when the police
try to say that security will be improved by retreating into
major stations. That is simply not the case and the honest
thing would be to admit that they are trying to save money.
"We in the Orange Order know only too well that reduced
security in rural areas has made it easier for evil people
to attack our halls. There have also been cowardly attacks
on police officers and it has been a miracle that none of
the officers has been murdered.
"Closing police stations is a premature move when there
is still a significant and viable threat from dissident republicans,
as the Chief Constable himself confirmed recently.
"Many members of the Orange Order live in rural areas.
They feel abandoned by the PSNI hierarchy and their policy
of closing stations.
"The Orange Institution is totally committed to supporting
police officers as they go about their job. The difficulty
at the moment is actually finding a police officer."
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