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Community would back PSNI shoot-to-kill policy against dissidents, says Paisley Jnr

Wednesday, 20 August 2008

A police shoot-to-kill policy against dissident republican terrorists would be accepted by the community in Northern Ireland, a member of the Policing Board has claimed.

Ian Paisley Jnr said people would support the use of lethal force to wipe out the threat posed by groups such as the Real IRA.

The Democratic Unionist Assembly member's remarks come after the latest dissident attempt to murder police officers in the region.

On Saturday three Police Service of Northern Ireland officers escaped injury in a rocket attack in the Co Fermanagh border town of Lisnaskea.

Renegade republicans have been blamed for seven other murder attempts on officers in the last year.

The "shoot-to-kill" issue was highly contentious in Northern Ireland during the Troubles, with the police and British Army, in particular the SAS, accused of implementing it in their efforts to combat terrorism.

Mr Paisley claimed people would now accept it as necessary to finally crush the dissident threat.

"Sooner or later there will be a murder of a police officer unless the police are able to deploy ruthlessness in tracking down and wiping out these dissident members," said the North Antrim MLA.

"I believe the community will accept such measures and if dissidents are shot on sight, the community will accept that it is a necessary use of lethal force to prevent dissident republicanism from growing."

SDLP policing board member Dolores Kelly described Mr Paisley's remarks as "dangerous nonsense".

"It is difficult to think of anything which would serve the dissident cause better than a shoot-to-kill policy," she said.

"It is also disturbing that we have anyone involved in policing at any level who can't work that out for himself."

Police chiefs have revealed that the explosives used in Saturday's rocket attack contained Semtex originally owned by the Provisional IRA.

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26 Comments

It seems Ian óg is just trying to create divisions between Republicans by making this statement. The reality is that such a measure would need cross-community support to be implemented so obviously it will never come into being.

Posted by TouchtheClouds | 26.08.08, 00:37 GMT

altough i would like to see the end of all violence in n ireland, shoot to kill policy is not the way forward. it really is a blast from the past! sometimes i really do beleive the DUP wish we were back there! time to vote ian jr and the rest out of office!

Posted by steve | 21.08.08, 10:39 GMT

i must have missed something.When did the shoot to kill policy end?

Posted by Johnno | 20.08.08, 22:58 GMT

i agree with stopping any form of paramilitaries with force, but is there not paramilitaries on both sides? not just dissident republicans??

Posted by ji | 20.08.08, 19:44 GMT

As a native of Belfast, everytime I hear comments like this from elected officials it makes me sick to my stomach. Was baby Paisley still in the womb when this violence started some 40 years ago? He is an embarrassment to N.Ireland.

Posted by Ed | 20.08.08, 17:36 GMT

It is ridiculous that some of our politicians with thinly veiled and unsavoury 'right wing' tendencies still think it is ok to speak first and think, much later. No-one wants to go back to the dark days of shootings and bombings - that includes those murdered by 'shoot to kill' policies.

Posted by Sharon Ferrin | 20.08.08, 17:26 GMT

I've ben in Belfast a couple of times. Once for an overnight and left becasue gunfire was not something I was used to and not willing to risk. The second time I stayed a week and loved every moment of it. The difference between to two experiences was measurable. Reading "stuff" like this makes me nauseous to the gut because I think of the "terror" my family who reside in Belfast must live with on a daily basis.

Posted by James Doyle | 20.08.08, 16:47 GMT

If the police encounter a Loyalist/Republican/Islamic group who are of threat to them and the public, then by all means, I’d back them in using whatever force necessary to stop them.

Posted by Robert Scott | 20.08.08, 14:55 GMT

If a policeman is under attack or under the threat of attack then he should obviously have the right to defend himself, and a shot to kill policy would be welcome in that circumstance, as wounding the attacker may not stop him in his attack.

dont think any sensible person would blame a policeman for shooting dead a terrorist if he was just about to try and kill him or someone else

Posted by Gary | 20.08.08, 14:20 GMT

In response to Neill's post. If a member of the PSNI is in a position where he feels his life or other lives are at risk then of course he/she has the right to defend themselves. However, what Mr Paisley seems to be advocating is a shoot to kill on sight policy. Where does it stop then? Might have been ok in Old Testament times but not in the modern civilised world.

Posted by David | 20.08.08, 13:37 GMT

Jnr’s remarks are nothing unusual where the DUP are concerned. Both they and the UUP openly applauded the previous shoot to kill policy of the RUC so this comes as no surprise. What does surprise me and what seems to be a developing worrying trend is that Dolores Kelly by her remarks implies that it is quite acceptable for the PSNI to murder so called dissidents but that the effect of this policy towards dissident support is the important factor against it….not the killing but it’s consequences!!!!!!!!!
D Kelly should be utterly ashamed of herself for making such a remark. A better approach for her to adopt is that of trying to understand why dissidents are turning to use physical methods to achieve their objective of a United Ireland……
The abysmal failure of Nationalist / Republican representatives to fully aquire 'parity of esteem' is surely a root cause..so Dolores dissident actions are a direct result of your failures to represent nationalism....Irish Nationalism Dolores!

Posted by Nigel 96 | 20.08.08, 13:18 GMT

i'm far from a DUP supporter, but Jr didn't actually advocate a 'shoot to kill' policy. i think its fair enough that if the police come under attack, they should be able to protect themselves and others.

Posted by Vicky | 20.08.08, 13:14 GMT

Violence begets violence, hatred begets hatred, we have practically every conflict in history as proof. Clearly Ian Junior is neither worldly wise, mature nor intelligent to say such a stupid thing. Who could vote for him? The DUP clearly still has a few cavemen within their ranks who have learned nothing.

Ok class, people shooting other people in Northern Ireland, did that resolve our issues in the past, yes or no?

Posted by Daniel Ballymena | 20.08.08, 13:04 GMT

So are all you that are expressing outrage really going to say you will be offended if the Police take out these people in the act? Really? These scum are trying their damnest to kill police officers, and their trial and error testing seems to be coming to an end ie they seem to know what they are doing. Are they really representing anyone but themselves? The police deserve the right to reply and the sooner this scum are removed, the better... as for the loyalist groupings, it seems as paramilitaries, they exist in name only nowadays, and once disidents are removed, they will no longer have any excuse to exist... pathetic though that excuse is.

Posted by Neill | 20.08.08, 13:02 GMT

Ian Paisley Jr, what colour is the sky on your planet? Why don't you go the whole hog and reintroduce internment? Heck, while you're at it, what about sending in the Paras? That will show ;em who's boss!

Posted by David | 20.08.08, 12:51 GMT

I heard Jr. on the radio this morning and the man's pathetic ignorance was at the fore once again.

As it stands I am quite certain that any Police officer ALREADY has the justification and means to use leathal force to defend themselves when in a life threatening situation at the hands of paramilitaries.

All he is doing is making an opportunist sound-bite. We should not be surprised by this as it's what he has been doing his entire career.

Posted by John | 20.08.08, 12:24 GMT

What a stupid remark. Thats just the type of remark I would expect from Paisley Jnr.

Does he not think that if the police start shooting people on sight that they will not get it wrong from time to time as they have done in the past, and look what trouble that caused.

If the police start operating a shoot to kill policy on republicans are they going to operate the same policy with loyalists?

Posted by Republican | 20.08.08, 12:16 GMT

This lethal force option does seem to be a bit a blast from the past, but how many of the outraged contributers below, would be prepared to give the news to the bereaved relations of the first police officer murdered? or for that matter, God forbid, the relatives of any members of the public caught up in a rocket attack. The dissidents are a symptom of a problem. We all need to make a lot more effort building the new concensus in this country/island rather than taking cheap shots at Ian Og and co. Somethings are better ignored..

Posted by Andy | 20.08.08, 12:03 GMT

Is baby doc trying to outdo Iris?

Posted by Alex crumlin | 20.08.08, 10:41 GMT

And as for the dissident loyalists (UDA, UVF, etc) who have so-far decommissioned not as much as a baseball bat, what would the fair-minded, peace-loving Mr Paisley Junior recommend?

This muppet really does miss the good old days of the Troubles it seems...

Posted by Timothy | 20.08.08, 10:07 GMT