A POLICE unit charged with tackling sectarianism at Scottish football matches is monitoring events to commemorate Ireland's Easter Rising
Just weeks ahead of the centenary of the 1916 rebellion, one event has already axed following the force’s intervention.
Police Scotland’s dedicated football unit FoCUS has held meetings over the potential for displays at football matches - through to film screenings, lectures and exhibitions - to come in breach of the law.
Commemorations which could be staged later this year marking the Battle of the Somme, which in Ireland has deep associations with the original Ulster Volunteer Force, have also come onto the police radar.
But concerns that 1916 centenary events could be bracketed as sectarian or offensive and those taking part “subject to criminal proceedings” have been raised by equalities groups, academics and politicians.
It comes as a church hall screening of an iconic 1950s film on the Rising, the pivotal event in modern Irish history, was scrapped following the intervention of local licensing officers.
The Catholic Church has confirmed that “acting on police advice” it scrapped a screening of the acclaimed documentary Mise Eire in parish hall in Lanarkshire.
Police Scotland has said neither the pub originally scheduled to show the film nor the church hall had filed for licensing consents.
FoCUS has held talks with several bodies over the issue, including the Irish Consulate in Edinburgh, the Government and equalities groups to identify where any commemoration could generate conflict.
But Scotland’s national umbrella body for ethnic minorities has outlined its concerns to the Scottish Parliament, while one MSP has said the police approach runs contrary to efforts by the UK and Irish governments to help cement the Ulster peace process by promoting centenary events.
Labour MSP Michael McMahon, who had planned to attend the church screening of Mise Eire, said that while there may have been technicalities over licensing issues he was unaware of other films shown in church halls that merited police intervention.
He added: “I’ve been a member of the British Irish Parliamentary Assembly. The Governments of these islands have signed up to working constructively around events commemorating World War One and the Easter Rising. They are of importance to the peace process.
“Someone somewhere in Police Scotland hasn’t received the memo. They should be buying into this, encouraging greater understanding rather than creating unnecessary problems.”
Maureen McBride, of the Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice Research and member of the team which carried out the Government’s review of the Offensive Behaviour At Football Act, said: “The marking of historical events such as the 1916 Easter Rising do not merit police or other criminal justice attention, and in general I would caution against the interpretation of such commemorations through the lens of ‘sectarianism’. “Police Scotland’s preoccupation with all things related to Irish Republicanism is rooted in a lack of understanding of what sectarianism in Scotland actually is.”
A Police Scotland spokeswoman said: “We have no concerns regarding the 1916 Centenary Events in Scotland and will always seek to facilitate peaceful and lawful protest and commemorations.
“However, whether related to hate crime, sectarianism or otherwise, where the actions of individuals commemorating any event or those seeking to disrupt a peaceful event cross the criminal threshold, then Police Scotland will seek to address those actions in a fair and proportionate manner.”
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