As mainstream political parties continue with their push to normalise the PSNI and implement their ‘hearts and minds’ strategy, they have now set their sights on disgracing the proud history of St. Comgall’s School in West Belfast.
St. Comgall’s will host a ‘public’ meeting of the ‘Policing & Community Safety Partnership’ (PCSP) on Monday the 24th of February at 12.30pm.
Disgusted at the event taking place, a former pupil has reached out to Lasair Dhearg, commenting, “Knowing the proud history of St. Comgall’s School and the role that it played in educating the children in the local area, many of whom went on to play a significant role in the struggle against imperialism and occupation here in Ireland, I am disgusted that it is now to be used as a recruitment tool for the PSNI – the front line force of occupation here in the Six Counties.”
The PCSP plays a very significant role in pushing the heavily armed force into ‘Catholic, Nationalist and Republican’ communities. It is a very deliberate tool, utilised to make the PSNI seem normal, and to recruit ‘Catholics’ into the force. Confirmation of this tactic was given recently, when PSNI Supt Brendan Green said that they will continue to use these meetings to recruit for the cops: “We will continue to use our outreach activities, like those hosted this week in north and south Lurgan (PCSP meetings), to encourage people…to apply for a career in policing.”
Just as the RUC never went away, neither did the much despised RUC Special Branch. The same public relations exercise was applied and it, just like the RUC, was re-branded into what is now known as the ‘C3 Intelligence Branch’, working hand in hand with Mi5. According to the PSNI’s own statistics, C3 Intelligence is made up of 79% Protestants, not that a persons religion should matter anyway. Of this, 92% are former RUC personnel.
Speaking further, the past-pupil voiced his sadness at former Republicans and anti-imperialists allowing the school to be used in this way, “My classmate and friend Brendan Hughes, as well as many other prominent Volunteers, were educated in the classrooms of St. Comgall’s. To many of us past-pupils, even in old age, the proud memories from the school are held close to our hearts. This is something the PSNI and their ‘hearts and minds’ strategy cannot break.”
“And it is not just the memories of the school that are held so deeply, but it is also the history. During the August 1969 Pogroms, Unionist gangs, led by the RUC and B Specials, attacked the Falls and the Clonard areas of West Belfast. Percy Street, directly facing St. Comgall’s, was largely destroyed, as was Dover Street a short distance away. Residents were beaten and shot at as they tried to escape.”
“Not content with destroying peoples homes and attacking them, the Unionist death squads and the RUC set their sights on attempting to destroy St. Comgall’s, a colonisation tactic also witnessed in Palestine by the Israeli Occupation Forces, this however was prevented by brave IRA volunteers who fought back, taking to the roof of St. Comgall’s to defend it. The bullet holes in the school can still be seen to this day as a stark reminder of the RUC’s despicable actions.”
“First the RUC attempted to pave the way for Unionist death squads to destroy St. Comgall’s, now they are attempting to use it as a recruitment centre for the PSNI, aided by so-called community representatives from Sinn Féin and others.”
He continued, “Any sane minded person must see that this is something that needs to be opposed. On Monday, PSNI gunmen will walk into St. Comgall’s, and as they do, they will walk past the bullet holes left by their colleagues just decades ago.”
“Let’s just be blunt about it”, he finished, “the PSNI are being forced down our throats by a British state strategy to make them appear normal and it is being supported by political parties who really should know better.”
“There is nothing ‘normal’ about the PSNI.”
