IAUC Asks the Presidential Candidates to Take a Stand on the Issues

In January, the IAUC sent questionnaires to the Presidential candidates to determine where each stood on a variety of Irish issues. What follows is the text of the questionnaire–stay tuned to see what your favorite candidate has to say!

The Irish American Unity Conference is committed to promoting the peaceful reunification of Ireland and promoting justice throughout Ireland. The IAUC has been active here for 25 years. It is in this context that our organization is seeking your position on a number of issues which fall under the broad heading of “Ireland”. We are committed to the task of keeping the peace process on a forward momentum. We recognize the invaluable role of the United States in providing direction, resources and an atmosphere that has framed frank and open dialogue between all the stakeholders.

The IAUC is interested in seeing United States continue in the role of “honest broker”.
There are many challenges facing Northern Ireland, the peace process, and the US relationship to Ireland today. Our questions fall into 5 broad categories:

Policing:
The British Government has agreed in principle to the transfer of policing and justice powers from their hands to the Northern Ireland Assembly and the All Ireland Ministerial Council. A defined time frame has not been set for this transfer. Policing is one of the most important issues at the heart of conflict resolution. Any police service must be democratically accountable and representative of the people they serve.

Do you support our call for the British Government to establish a definitive time frame for the transfer of the power of Policing and Justice to the Northern Ireland Assembly as outlined by the Patton Report and the Good Friday Agreement?

Collusion/Truth Recovery:
The role of the police force in Northern Ireland has been a highly controversial one. Both the nationalist and loyalist communities are gravely concerned about the issue of collusion (state sponsored crime involving the police – RUC/PSNI – and loyalist murder gangs) and truth recovery. Full disclosure would expose those within the RUC/PSNI responsible for past atrocities and bring about their removal from the police service. This disclosure would increase the community’s confidence in the police and make them more accountable to the communities they serve.

Do you support our call for full disclosure and truth recovery?

Immigration:
The United States historically owes its strength to the successive waves of immigrants who came to flee oppression and seek a new life safeguarded by an open democratic system. In recent years, the issue of immigration has been framed by increasingly acrimonious debate.

Do you support immigration reform that would bring closure to families suffering in the United States?

Former Irish Republican Activists/Deportation:
Within the context of the previous question, there is a small sub-group of immigrants in which this organization has a particular interest. There is a group of former Irish Republican Activists (numbering approximately 16 individuals) who have faced deportation because of their prior affiliation with the Irish Republican Movement. The US Government has pursued a policy against these men which is very much out of step with recent developments in the peace process, specifically the voluntary disarming by the Irish Republican Army and the dissolution of the IRA itself and their commitment to a peaceful, political resolution. Our organization calls for
full legal status for these men and their families, in support of the peace process.

Do you support an approach to this issue which would suggest a ‘peace dividend’ for these men and their families?

US – UK Extradition Treaty:
The new extradition treaty between the U.S. and Britain, as well as a number of other recent treaties, has provisions that shift key decisions about extradition from the courts to the executive branch and otherwise weakens the ability of the person sought for extradition to mount an effective defense. The IAUC is especially concerned that they would enable the threat of extradition to be used to stifle opposition to British policies by people in this country.

Would you support revising the treaty to restore protections against biased or politically motivated extradition requests, and ensure due process?

Stay tuned for updates on the candidates’ responses!