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But then this modern Republicanist militantism seems to stem from what that article refers to as civil rights violations against Catholics in Northern Ireland, but it doesn't say what those might have been.

It's widely-attested (though I've never been to NI, so I'm not really talking from experience) that the local police force, formerly known as the Royal Ulster Constabulary or RUC, fell somewhat short of impartiality when it came to sectarian crime. The proportion of Protestants among RUC officers was much higher than would be representative of the population, and the force was seen by some Catholics as a pro-Protestant organisation, and indeed one instrumental in enforcing their status as second-class citizens. Among their allegations are that sectarian crimes against "troublemaker" Catholics were investigated half-heartedly if at all, and that on at least one occasion a troublemaker was murdered under circumstances of not merely police indifference but active police complicity.

Chris Patten, a former Government minister, was tasked with looking into allegations of partisanship, and, rather to the surprise of his Tory colleagues, delivered a stinging report which, while explicitly declining to comment on the RUC's past record, recommended widespread changes centered around strong reinforcement of police officers' commitment to the human rights of all parts of the community. Many but not all of Patten's recommendations were adopted, including a symbolic change of name from RUC to NIPF (Northern Ireland Police Force), a name which, it was hoped, sounded more neutral. The NIPF are making a deliberate effort to recruit more from the Catholic community, with the long-term aim of balancing-out the numbers completely, to reflect the make-up of the wider community. But even now, many Catholics are wary, if not outright distrusting, of the police. One groundbreaking statement that was hoped-for, but not yet forthcoming, from republican leaders was a simple call to republicans to, in general, report crimes to the police.

Peter