Over 1,000 people gathered in Clonard monastery in west Belfast last night for the largest of the eight Sinn Féin public meetings on policing ahead of Sunday's potentially groundbreaking ardfheis.
It reflected a variety of views - some supporting the leadership, some expressing concerns, some vehemently opposed - but despite the reservations, and as at the other meetings, the mood appeared to be in support of the move to support the PSNI.
Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams said that in a week in which Police Ombudsman Nuala O'Loan exposed special branch collusion, it was significant that Clonard monastery was the venue. It was behind the monastery in 1969 that he first experienced collusion when the RUC and B Specials attacked and killed Catholics.
He said republicans had an opportunity to change that culture of collusion by making the PSNI accountable to the people. He said it would be a "battle a day" if the ardfheis motion was passed because unionists would not easily "embrace equality". People should realise as well that while policing was a challenge for republicanism, republicans in policing and keeping police accountable were challenges for unionism.
Sinn Féin policing spokesman Gerry Kelly told the crowd that the party was seeking the endorsement of the ardfheis for policing "because it was in the best interests of the struggle". He added that British prime minister Tony Blair had also given a commitment to create a "firewall" preventing MI5 having anything to do with civic policing.
He also accused the government of letting Sinn Féin down during the St Andrews Agreement and Christmas negotiations. Arguing the case for the motion, he said, "Don't let unionists think they can hold onto policing; they have abused policing and justice for generations."
A woman posed the question of whether ardfheis support for policing was not a "done deal".
One man said he was concerned about Sinn Féin engaging with "collaborators in human rights abuses", and that the exercise of such abuse had always been entrenched in the British system.
A man said he hoped the PSNI would be more amenable than the RUC members who supposedly were involved in inquiring into the murder of his brother over 30 years ago by the UVF.
Mr Adams said people should not leave the monastery convinced that if the ardfheis carried the motion that by Sunday night or early next week republicans would be going about "hugging a Peeler". He added, "We are about putting manners on them."
He also spoke about how he had unsuccessfully tried to enter into negotiations with dissident republicans but that his overtures were ignored. All "armed actions must stop", he added, so that those opposed to political change no longer had excuses to try to prevent progress.
An 85-year-old man said he was concerned about the problem of anti-social behaviour and indicated he supported Sinn Féin's strategy.
A woman said she had lost family in the conflict, "some of them volunteers", and that people should have confidence in what was happening. "We are not going back to being treated as second-class citizens," she added.
To applause, a man said republicans should not endorse the PSNI but "destroy from outside" the police service.
