Parents in staunchly republican areas of Newry have sent Sinn Féin a hardline warning – keep our kids away from the PSNI or else.
Mothers and fathers in the Derrybeg Estate are furious that party workers tried to bring local children on a police-sponsored trip.
A mother-of-two told Sunday World: "Sinn Féin members knocked doors asking if we wanted to send our kids on a two-day trip to Co Tyrone. They didn't tell us the PSNI was helping fund it.
"I was suspicious and refused but other parents who didn't know the cops were among the sponsors agreed. Some are now furious. We don't want our kids connected to a police force which is still raiding homes and harassing people."
A Derrybeg father-of-four said: "This could cause Sinn Féin a lot of trouble. Local dissidents aren't happy and there are now more dissidents than Shinners in many working-class parts of Newry."
Parents in the republican Carnagat and Mourneview Park areas also complained to Sunday World. Independent republican councillor Davy Hyland said: "Parents were misled into letting their children attend a PSNI-sponsored event. Many wouldn't have allowed it had they been aware who was behind it."
The Confederation of Community Groups, which led the project, thanked the police for their input and hailed the trip as a big success.
Sinn Féin has been working hard building bridges between young people and police in nationalist areas. Unlike in Newry, it's been hugely successful in West Belfast. The photo above was taken in Falls Park during last month's West Belfast festival.
It shows children playing happily with police officers, a scene many thought they'd never see in a republican heartland. West Belfast mother-of -three, Mairead Maguire, said: "The police came to the Teddy Bears' picnic. Of every group there, they were the most popular.
"All the kids wanted to sit in the police cars, Landrovers and motorbikes. They were tooting horns and flashing sirens and blue lights. The PSNI couldn't have been nicer. Neither parents nor children showed them any hostility."
Maguire said it was a welcome break from the past: "Sinn Féin controls our area and this event couldn't have happened without their support. For years, they wouldn't let us talk or deal with police.
"That's completely changed and it's better late than never. We're becoming a normal society like any other part of the UK."
