BELFAST (Reuters) - The Queen will visit Northern Ireland today to honour a
police force plagued by wrangling over its royal links and nationalist mistrust.
Security forces have gone on high alert for possible attacks by renegade
paramilitaries during the rare visit by the head of state to bestow the George
Cross, the highest civilian award for bravery, on the Royal Ulster Constabulary
(RUC).
Reforms to the largely Protestant force, especially plans to drop the "royal" tag in a new name, have riled unionists who say the
changes insult the 302 officers killed in 30 years of sectarian violence that took 3,600 lives.
Republicans, who want the 13,500-strong force disbanded, plan to protest against the tribute they say rewards the RUC for
anti-Catholic abuses. The force has always denied bias.
Northern Ireland's peace process has reached a precarious stage, with the province's home- rule assembly of majority
Protestants and minority Catholics suspended by London over the IRA's failure to disarm.
Major paramilitary groups, including the IRA, are holding to a ceasefire but dissident republican bands have staged sporadic
attacks to try to derail the push for peace.
FEARS OF "HEADLINE-GRABBING" ATTACK
The venue for the midday ceremony, Hillsborough Castle outside Belfast, is already well guarded as the home of Northern
Ireland Secretary Peter Mandelson.
But some security sources voiced surprise that the trip was announced two weeks in advance, giving a republican splinter group
ample time to plan a "headline-grabbing" attack elsewhere.
The queen, whose cousin Lord Mountbatten was assassinated by IRA bombers in 1979, will not tour Belfast during the visit.
As hundreds of RUC members and their families look on, the queen will present the George Cross to Paul Slaine, an officer
confined to a wheelchair since his legs were blown off by an IRA rocket attack in 1992.
The citation with the award, instituted in 1940 by King George VI, says the RUC "has been both a bulwark against, and the
main target of, a sustained and brutal terrorist campaign".
"As Northern Ireland reaches a turning point in its political development, this award is made to recognise the collective courage
and dedication to duty to all those who have served in the (RUC)," it reads.
But a group called Relatives for Justice, representing families of Catholics killed by the force, said the honour highlighted the
grief of RUC widows while ignoring their own.
"It is not conducive to the atmosphere of peace building. It is sending the wrong signal," spokesman Mark Thompson said.
Political analysts say the queen's trip is choreographed to ceremonially honour the RUC for past service while stressing that the
force must adapt quickly to changing times.
Irish Republic Prime Minister Bertie Ahern told parliament in Dublin on Tuesday that his government and Britain hoped to
finalise a joint position by the weekend mapping out a possible way forward for the stalled Northern Ireland peace process.
~*~
Opposition grows to Putin audience
with the Queen(UK Times)
BY RICHARD BEESTON AND ALICE LAGNADO IN MOSCOW
THE Queen risks being caught up in an international
dispute if her meeting with President Putin of Russia goes
ahead in London next week.
As details are finalised of the one-day visit on Monday,
there is growing pressure at home and abroad not to grant
the newly elected Kremlin leader such a prestigious
meeting while Russia faces unresolved accusations of
gross human rights violations in Chechnya.
Mr Putin and his wife are due to arrive in London on
Sunday night. On Monday, the Russian leader will meet
British industrialists, attend a a working lunch at Downing
Street and is then scheduled to have an audience with the
Queen.
In the Commons yesterday, Menzies Campbell, the
Liberal Democrat Foreign Affairs spokesman, called on
the Government to postpone the visit. "After the treatment
which has been meted out to Mary Robinson, the UN
Commissioner for Human Rights, and also the decision of
the Council of Europe to begin proceedings which may
lead to the suspension of Russia, does the Government
feel no discomfort at the notion of welcoming Mr Putin in
London?" he asked.
In Russia, Yelena Bonner, the widow of the Soviet
dissident Andrei Sakharov, repeated her charge that the
war in Chechnya was "genocide" and urged Tony Blair
not to grant Russia new loans while the war continued.
Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International are
preparing letters to Downing Street demanding that Mr
Putin be brought to task for a conflict which he
masterminded. "One of the few levers that the international
community has over Mr Putin is his access to the world
stage," said a spokeswoman for Human Rights Watch in
New York. "By granting a meeting with the Queen, Britain
is enhancing his international prestige and receiving nothing
in return."
Despite the row, Mr Putin is expected to take advantage
of Britain's moderate stance on the war in Chechnya to
push for foreign investment. He is wasting no time in
following up Tony Blair's visit to St Petersburg, which
established a personal relationship that the Russian leader
is keen to exploit.
Mr Putin clearly believes that Russia needs massive
foreign investment if its economy is to improve, which
explains why he is spending Monday morning talking
business. Russia's main British investors include Shell, BP
Amoco, Unilever, Cadbury Schweppes and British
American Tobacco. Despite this list, there are huge
problems for foreign investors trying to set up in Russia, as
demonstrated by the problems experienced by the
Swedish furniture chain, Ikea, which set up a shop in
Moscow last month.
Mr Putin will be seeking to reassure existing and potential
investors that he will pass the necessary laws to make
putting money into Russia worth their while. Political
analysts in Moscow believe Mr Putin does wish to make
the investment climate more favourable, but the changes
required are too large to realise quickly.
That may not matter to some Western investors. "Many
investors in the West are like rabbits to a boa constrictor.
The boa constrictor opens its mouth, and they are
hypnotised and swallowed," said Yevgeni Volk, a leading
commentator.
The Russian leader also wants to sound out both British
and European ideas about Russia and Europe. "Putin will
get information on the views of the EU and the larger
Euro-Atlantic Alliance. Also, this high-level dialogue will
contribute to the formulation of Russia's new foreign
policy, which Russia will have to change after the past two
years," Sergei Karaganov, the deputy director of
Moscow's Europe Institute, said.
Mr Karaganov said that the Russian leader saw Mr Blair
as a useful pointer to "new" European thinking. "Tony
Blair is not simply the British leader but an intellectual guru
for the new Europe," he said.
~*~
Security alert ahead of Royal visit(BBC News)
A hoax bomb alert interrupted preparations for
a visit by the Queen to Northern Ireland on
Wednesday.
The Queen is to present the George Cross to
the Royal Ulster Constabulary, in recognition of
the bravery of the force over 30 years of
violence in the province.
But army bomb disposal experts were called to
Hillsborough where the ceremony will take
place, after a suspicious package was found.
They later said the device was a hoax.
It was found several hundred yards from
Hillsborough Castle as hundreds of people,
including past and serving RUC officers,
prepared to attend the prestigious ceremony
at midday.
A warning call was made to the offices of a
Belfast newspaper.
An RUC spokeswoman said: "A man claimed a
device had been planted at the side of the
road."
Police and troops had earlier mounted a huge
security operation in the area in preparation
for the Queen's visit, her first to Northern
Ireland since l997.
Accompanied by the Duke of
Edinburgh, the Queen will be
greeted by Northern Ireland
Secretary Peter Mandelson.
The Queen will present the
medal to three officers, Assistant Chief
Constable Bill Stewart, representing those with
long service, Constable Susan Wright, one of
the force's newest recruits, and Constable Paul
Slaine, who lost both legs in an IRA bomb
attack.
Mr Slaine will represent the 302 officers who
were killed and the thousands injured during
the Troubles.
RUC Chief Constable Sir Ronnie Flanagan
welcomed the awarding of the George Cross,
describing it as "a momentous day" for the
force.
"It is the highest honour that can be conferred
upon civilians. It takes precedence over all
medals with only the exception of the Victoria
Cross," he said.
BBC Ireland correspondent Tom Coulter says
some people within the RUC see the honour as
a political sop to the unionist community, at a
time when the government plans fundamental
reforms of the force to make it more
acceptable to Catholics and nationalists.
The legislation is based on a report by former
Hong Kong governor Chris Patten which was
published last September.
Sinn Fein says the RUC
is sectarian and has
demanded it be
disbanded and replaced
by an entirely new
community-based
force.
Unionists are resisting
changes to the RUC,
which they say are an
insult to the memory of
the hundreds who died
during the Troubles.
The most controversial change is the loss of
the name. The Patten Report into the force's
future proposed renaming the RUC the Police
Service of Northern Ireland.
Many RUC officers and their widows feel the
removal of the name is a slight.
However, Iona Myer of the RUC Widows'
Association said the award was a "tremendous
honour" for all who had served and given their
lives for the force.
"Even though people are understandably angry
and hurt at the proposed change to the name
and symbols of the force, we are still proud to
see the force receiving this honour, especially
from where it is coming."
The bill introducing the
changes is expected to
put before the UK
Parliament in the next
few weeks.
The RUC is already the
most decorated police
force in the British Isles
but the George Cross
will cap it all.
Only once before has
the medal - the civilian
equivalent of the
Victoria Cross - been given to a group of
people.
In 1942 the people of Malta were honoured for
their stalwart resistance despite incessant
bombing during World War II.
Later on Wednesday, the Queen will travel to
the King's Hall complex in Balmoral, south
Belfast, where she will meet members of
Northern Ireland's farming and fishing industry.
The royal couple will sign the Royal Ulster
Agricultural Society's visitor's book and receive
two pieces of Tyrone Crystal to commemorate
the event.