Earlier this month, the British prime minister, Tony Blair, took the misguided and unjustified step of postponing the Northern Ireland Assembly elections which had been due to take place next week.
He was, quite rightly, criticised by many voices, including those of republicans, for tampering with the democratic process.
It is therefore ironic that republicans have now been responsible for forcing the abandonment of a meeting of a policing partnership attended by a wide range of elected representatives.
The deliberate disruption of a legally constituted policing body in any location would be regrettable, but the fact that Wednesday night's protest was staged in Omagh was particularly unfortunate.
Omagh was the scene of the appalling Real IRA bomb attack in 1998 which killed 29 people and two unborn children, and the town has since been at the forefront of efforts to promote peace and reconciliation.
Policing must be included in this wider initiative; and the decision by individuals from both sides of the Omagh community to play a positive role in this regard was a welcome step.
Republicans were fully entitled to take a more critical view of the policing board, but they certainly did not have the right to prevent its inaugural sitting from taking place.
The meeting was brought to a premature end when board members were unable to make themselves heard over the chants of demonstrators.
This cannot be acceptable and it must be hoped that republicans will give serious consideration to the full implications of their actions in Omagh.
It was reassuring at one level to hear the Sinn Féin MP for West Tyrone, Pat Doherty, say yesterday (Thursday) that he would appeal to people to protest in a peaceful and disciplined way.
However, perhaps the most important element of any protest, dignity, was sadly missing from Omagh on Wednesday evening.
Sinn Féin figures have made it clear that they have no objection in principle to the establishment of policing boards, but want to see adjustments in some areas before they endorse the new structures.
As this essentially comes down to a question of tactics and timing on the republican side, the very different approach witnessed in Omagh was disturbing in every respect.
The expectation must be that there will be no repetition, in Omagh or anywhere else, of the events of Wednesday night.
