[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 27 (Thursday, February 13, 2003)]
[House]
[Page H676]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         ANNIVERSARY OF PAT FINUCANE MURDER IN NORTHERN IRELAND

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to remind my colleagues of an 
event that occurred 14 years ago yesterday. Pat Finucane, a Northern 
Ireland human rights attorney who defended individuals who were 
detained and targeted by the British and the RUC, was shot and killed 
by British loyalist paramilitaries while he sat eating a Sunday meal 
with his wife and three children.
  Since his murder in 1989, Amnesty International and the United 
Nations have called on the British Government to investigate any 
collusion between the RUC/British Government officials and the loyalist 
paramilitaries. Unfortunately, after 3 years of investigation, still no 
report has been made public.
  According to the UDA, the Ulster Defense Association, which claimed 
responsibility for his murder, Mr. Finucane was profiled as an 
individual who was helping support the pro-Catholic, pro-republican 
cause in Northern Ireland.
  Mr. Speaker, I call on the London Metropolitan Police Commissioner, 
Sir John Stevens, to expeditiously complete the report on the February 
1989 killing of Pat Finucane in Belfast. Sir Stevens has been 
investigating this case for almost 3 years.
  Late last year, Sir John Stevens announced for the second time that 
the Finucane report would be delayed as a result of a British military 
witness being reluctant to speak to the police. Stevens claimed that 
the report will be released before next spring; however, there 
continues to be speculation that the report may be delayed further 
should a public inquiry be ordered.
  There are few who will dispute the facts in this case. According to 
Brian Nelson, a former British military intelligence agent who also 
served as chief intelligence officer in the UDA, he directly assisted 
in the targeting of Pat Finucane and passed a photograph of Pat 
Finucane to a UDA member just days before the killing. However, Mr. 
Nelson claims that he has never been examined in an open court. To 
date, no one has been prosecuted for the murder of Pat Finucane.
  The facts in this case seem quite straightforward, once again a pro-
loyalist police force used its authority to further sectarian rule and 
continue the rash of violence against the Catholic community.
  Mr. Speaker, I call on Prime Minister Tony Blair and London 
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Stevens to finally release the current 
report and then immediately open a full public inquiry into this 
matter. My hope is that by putting an end to this long-drawn-out 
process, we can bring both justice to the individuals who undertook 
this gruesome act and take steps to ensure that it does not happen 
again.
  This whole matter, once again, reinforces my belief that for too long 
both the British Government, along with their police force, and the 
loyalist paramilitary groups in Northern Ireland have worked in tandem 
to usurp the rights of the Catholic community.
  A full public inquiry into this matter will show the world that the 
only way peace can last in Northern Ireland is for a full, fair and 
just reform of policing in Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland must 
immediately implement all of the Patten Commissions' recommendations on 
policing.

                              {time}  1930

  Mr. Speaker, if there is to be a just and lasting peace in Northern 
Ireland, we must learn from what happened to Pat Finucane and ensure 
that it never happens again.

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