Sir, - There are no more assiduous or respected scrutators of the Northern Ireland security scene than monsignori Faul and Murray. Their latest letter (November 21st) is however sheer nonsense. Political progress depends not on the interaction between the RUC and the violently republican enclaves in Belfast, Derry, Armagh, Lurgan and elsewhere, but on the interaction between unionist and nationalist politicians.
Changes in the RUC - I am sure Monsignors Faul and Murray would agree that a change of name and uniform is irrelevant - must necessarily be a slow business. The replacement of constables who have joined, and been trained, as paramilitaries by constables who have joined to be policemen can only take place in a society where "normal" policing is the norm. Any change must be slow because the administration of the law is a technical and complicated business intended to result in the conviction not only of terrorists but of wife-beaters, drunken drivers and child-molesters.
If the laws don't change - that great mass of laws which relate not to terrorism but to the orderly running of society - it is hard to see how the correct application of those laws can be affected by a change in the denominational make-up of the RUC. A policeman, Protestant or Catholic, is a policeman is a policeman. Except, of course, Traffic Branch. - Yours, etc.,
From Charles Clarke
Magherydogherty Road, Markethill BT60 1TX, Co Armagh.