loyalist paramilitaries
British deny murdered lawyer Rosemary Nelson any justice
Read Lawyers Alliance for Justice in Ireland founder and longtime IAUC member, Ed Lynch's letter published in today's Belfast Telegraph:
On March 15,1999 human rights lawyer Rosemary Nelson was murdered outside of her home in Lurgan because she successfully fought British injustice.
In the ensuing 11 years, the British Government has dissembled, conducted an inquiry and waged a campaign of delay and obfuscation. What this Government has not done is seek the truth. Ms Nelson represented causes and individuals unpopular in Northern Ireland - nationalist residents subject to Orange Order harassment, scapegoat defendants falsely charged with terrorist offences and citizens alleging police abuse.
As a consequence, she was subject to threats and vile slander - some emanating from identified members of the RUC.
Rather than protect Rosemary Nelson, officials of the British Government failed to take responsible action and allowed a climate of hatred and imminent violence to fester. Sadly, this led miscreants to plant a bomb that took Ms Nelson's life .
As the 11th anniversary of this sad day approaches, one can only conclude that, in the case of Rosemary Nelson, British justice has not only been delayed - it has also been denied.
IAUC responds to Irish Independent article "Proposing a memorial..."
IAUC Board member Michael Cummings responds to "Proposing a memorial for IRA terrorists":
February 3, 2010
Letter Editor
INDEPENDENT
Independent House
27-32 Talbot Street
Dublin 1, Ireland
Dear Editor:
Kevin Meyers commentary on a proposed memorial in Enniscorthy (“Proposing a memorial for IRA terrorists” 2/3) is an example of the very selective memorialisation he derides.
Those who erect political memorials such as that proposed in Enniscorthy do so for two reasons. First, there is the process of grieving and remembrance. Second, is the need to challenge those who re-write history. In the case of Ireland’s conflict, British historians have made this a cottage industry. Not far from your offices in 1974 the British Army and their loyalist allies committed the largest atrocity of the conflict. The no-warning Dublin-Monaghan bombs cost the lives of 33, mostly women and children shopping. With the smell of Bloody Sunday still in the air, this act of war transformed a civil rights protest to an armed conflict. Any fair reading of both the facts and the numbers since 1920 proves without question it is the British and their loyalist subjects who have the “..deviant addiction to violence”…Meyers abhors.
Those who lose their lives in struggle, armed or otherwise, could never be accused of “..going with the flow.” On the other hand, there is an Irish expression to describe those who would have people bury painful memories of British malevolence in favor of recalling those who fell in service to the British Army. Can you guess it? Anything for the quiet life.
Sincerely,
Michael J. Cummings
Member, National Board
IAUC responds to Christian Science Monitor article on power-sharing
IAUC board member Michael Cummings has written another fantastic letter on the media's coverage of politics in the north of Ireland, this time to the Christian Science Monitor:
February 1, 2010
Dear Editor:
I wish to commend the insight of “Northern Ireland: power-sharing dispute threatens to freeze peace process” (1/30). Your coverage of the conflict in Ireland has generally been more accurate and substantive the other major papers but 10 years after the so called Good Friday Agreement some still can’t get it right.
Three points stand out in your summary which merit mention. First, unlike a recent New York Times article by John Burns, Jason Walsh did not use the misleading buzzwords often supplied by British Information Services e. g. “the mostly Protestant DUP and the mostly Roman Catholic Sinn Fein.” These phrases are meant to continue the myth of a religious struggle within Christianity in Ireland. Nothing could be further from the truth. The struggle has always been about national and unionist politics and governance. It amuses those in Sinn Fein to be so referenced as their positions often oppose Catholic church social teaching. Second, Professor Bean’s reference to the “choreographed …cyclical crises” is right on point. What many have come to realize is that the instigator and choreographer of all the staggering and stumbling politically is a British government manipulating and pandering to their loyalist allies. Third, the selection of commentators in the article are not the usual suspects. In citing the views of Ms Purvis, Caragh O’Donnell, and Mick Fealty you more accurately portrayed the community views then the platitudes of politicians.
Sincerely,
Michael J. Cummings
Member, National Board
IAUC calls on British government to come clean in wake of UDA/UFF decommissioning
January 11, 2010--The Irish American Unity Conference (IAUC) has called on the British government to come clean about its involvement in arming loyalist paramilitary groups following last week's announcement that the Ulster Defence Association (UDA)/Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF) have completed the decommissioning process.
IAUC National President Kate McCabe said, "While we welcome news of the UDA/UFF disarmament, the irony of the fact that these groups were armed by MI5 and RUC Special Branch is not lost on us. We cannot hail this as any kind of real achievement without an honest discussion of British complicity in arming loyalist paramilitary groups over the years of the conflict."
"We know that the UDA/UFF were armed with weapons smuggled in from apartheid South Africa through paid British agent Brian Nelson under the watchful eye of Whitehall and Downing Street in 1987 and 1988--and that these very same weapons were then used in hundreds of sectarian murders."
There continues to be an active interest within Irish America and Congress in uncovering evidence of the collusion that took place with the blessing of the British government. The IAUC submitted evidence to this effect at last October's Congressional hearing into Collusion between Police and Paramilitary Groups in NI. Also at this hearing, Representative Bill Delahunt said he believed a key factor in the developing peace process lies in the unsolved murders of the conflict.
The IAUC will continue to lobby for American political support for an operationally independent, international truth commission. Additionally, the IAUC also seeks a Congressional hearing into the Brian Nelson affair and the arming of loyalist paramilitaries by British Military Intelligence.
ENDS
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Irish American Groups Unite to Support Truth Recovery in the North of Ireland
Washington, DC—The Ancient Order of Hibernians (AOH), Irish Northern Aid (INA) and the Irish American Unity Conference (IAUC) have joined together in a renewed effort to support an independent truth recovery process to deal with the legacy of the past following Thursday’s Congressional hearing into collusion in the North of Ireland.
The hearing featured testimony from Raymond McCord, John Finucane, former Police Ombudsman Nuala O’Loan, and Jane Winter, director of British Irish Rights Watch. Overwhelming Congressional support for further investigations into collusion and the full disclosure of truth on the part of the British government was evident throughout.
Congressman Bill Delahunt (D-MA), chair of the Subcommittee on International Organizations, Human Rights and Oversight, told the audience that the information surrounding collusion between British security forces and paramilitaries must be made public if people are to maintain faith in the integrity of the justice system. Congressman Chris Smith (R-NJ) agreed, stating that there is bipartisan support for truth recovery in Congress. “These issues are not going to go away,” Smith said.
“We would like to see Congress become actively involved in the establishment and oversight of an independent truth commission in the North of Ireland,” said IAUC President Kate McCabe. “Such a process, where victims’ rights are at the forefront, is essential to a lasting peace. American political support is necessary to ensure the true independence of any truth recovery process in the North.”
AOH National President Seamus Boyle said, “It is very important to remember that with the Good Friday Agreement in 1998 ending the conflict in the North the Ancient Order of Hibernians refocused on the human rights and collusion issues which were highlighted in this Congressional hearing. We need to have resolution to these collusion issues which devastated both communities. We can then move on to the much more difficult task of a political dialogue and reconciliation between the communities.”
The AOH, INA and the IAUC are requesting that a Congressional fact-finding delegation be organized to travel to the North to specifically investigate the collusion issue. In addition, members of Congress are being asked to write to the Northern Ireland Office and Prime Minister Gordon Brown to express support for the “Legacy Commission” as proposed by the Consultative Group on the Past, provided that the British government allow for its operational independence and full access to State archives.
All Irish Americans and concerned citizens are being asked to join the AOH and IAUC in promoting these goals.
Support Those Affected By Collusion Thursday in DC
Please show your support for all of the victims of collusion in the North by attending the Congressional hearing scheduled for this Thursday, October 22nd. Let Congress know that there is a tremendous amount of political support behind uncovering the broader themes of the conflict, including collusion, shoot-to-kill and British state violence. (If you are unable to attend, email info (at) iauc.org to find out how you can help!)
See the details below, or go here:
Subcommittee on International Organizations, Human Rights and Oversight, Bill Delahunt (D-MA), Chairman:
"Concerns Regarding Possible Collusion in Northern Ireland: Police and Paramilitary Groups"
The hearing begins at 10am in Room 2172 of the Rayburn House Office Building.
BRIEFING BY:
Her Excellency Nuala O'Loan
Member
British House of Lords
(Former Northern Ireland Police Ombudsman)
WITNESSES:
Mr. Raymond McCord, Sr.
Belfast, Northern Ireland
Mr. John Finucane
Belfast, Northern Ireland
Ms. Jane Winter
Director
British Irish Rights Watch
Congressman Delahunt to Hold Hearing into Murder of Raymond McCord, Jr on Oct. 22
From the Irish National Caucus:
Capitol Hill. September 28, 2009. Irish-Americans have warmly welcomed the news that Congressman Bill Delahunt (D-MA), Chairman of the House Subcommittee on International Organizations, Human Rights and Oversight, has scheduled a Congressional Hearing for October 22 on the case of Raymond Mc Cord Jr. (22) who was murdered in 1997 near Belfast. The Mc Cords are a Protestant/Unionist family.
Because British Government agents and police informers were involved in the murder the crime and collusion were covered up and only exposed by the relentless truth-campaign of the young man’s father, Raymond Sr., who will be the main witness at the Hearing – marking the first time a Protestant has testified on collusion.
“Congressman Delahunt deserves great credit for scheduling this Hearing”, said Fr. Sean Mc Manus, president of the Capitol Hill-based Irish National Caucus, which last May brought Raymond Mc Cord Sr. to Capitol Hill to lobby for his son’s cause.
