News of the astonishing lengths which Police on the Isle of Man are going to to crack down on Nationalist discontent continues to emerge.
Earlier this month we reported that Police were rumoured to have stopped cars and asked the occupants if they were Manx language speakers.
Now it is alleged that police have used terrorism laws to requisition CCTV from certain public houses on the Island and also that persons wearing the T-shirts illustrated with the name of an open Nationalist group have been stopped and questioned.
It has also been asserted that even some officers within the Police service itself have become concerned at the heavy-handed approach being adopted believing that the crack-down will simply further alienate younger people with Nationalist leanings. In addition the resources being deployed seem disproportionate.
It is becoming increasingly clear that publicity about the ham-fisted nature of the police crackdown is also the subject of a, so far, successful management strategy in relation to the established media.
However, this also may backfire as the disconnect between Nationalists and the dependencies authorities leads to further frustration over accountability issues.
In its ham-fisted approach the police have simply failed to grasp the nature of alienation that exists between a new generation of politically savvy young Manx people and the existing political status quo.