[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 33 (Thursday, March 17, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2984-S2985]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        CONDEMNING VIOLENCE AND CRIMINALITY IN NORTHERN IRELAND

  Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I rise today to join my colleagues, Senators

[[Page S2985]]

Kennedy, McCain and others in condemning ongoing violence and 
criminality by the Irish Republican Army.
  Our actions are prompted in part by our meeting yesterday with the 
sisters and fiance of Robert McCartney, a Catholic resident of Belfast 
who was brutally murdered on January 30, by individuals who are members 
of the IRA. These six young women, Catherine McCartney, Paula Arnold, 
Gemma McMacken, Claire McCartney, Donna Mary McCartney, and Bridgeen 
Karen Hagans, have publicly challenged the code of silence that 
generally surrounds IRA activities, including the brutal murder of 
their brother, an innocent bystander.
  These brave women came to Washington seeking our help to ensure that 
this heinous act is not forgotten as time passes and that justice is 
done, not only on behalf of their brother, but for all the people of 
Northern Ireland--Protestant and Catholic alike. They have called upon 
the IRA and Sinn Fein to stop covering up Robert's murder, and to begin 
immediately to cooperate directly with the Northern Ireland Policing 
Service in order to bring to justice those responsible for this heinous 
crime.
  In response to their appeal we believe that it is important that the 
United States Senate express itself on their behalf. That is why we 
have asked the Senate to act on the pending resolution. That is why 
President Bush met personally with these brave women at the White House 
earlier today--to highlight the importance of justice being done.
  Our actions on this resolution and the President's meeting earlier 
today put the world on notice that we condemn such acts. In addition, 
with this resolution we call on the leadership of Sinn Fein to insist 
that everyone responsible for this murder be brought to justice and 
that anyone with knowledge about the crime cooperate fully and directly 
with the Police Service of Northern Ireland in making that possible.
  As an Irish American, I look forward to the annual celebration of 
Saint Patrick's Day. Earlier today we participated in the Annual 
Speaker's luncheon with visiting Prime Minister of Ireland, Bertie 
Ahern to commemorate this day.
  I must tell you that we did so with less exuberance than in past 
years when there was frankly more to be joyful about.
  Ten years ago on this day, there was excitement and promise at our 
Saint Patrick's Day celebration--the 1994 IRA ceasefire had been in 
place for more than 6 months and there existed a positive climate 
conducive to finding a political resolution to a quarter century of 
sectarian violence.
  Seven years ago, in 1998, there was even more concrete evidence that 
sectarian violence was over as we were literally days away from the 
parties signing the Good Friday Accords which they did on April 9 of 
that year. That document was crafted by the political parties under the 
able leadership of former Majority Leader George Mitchell with the 
active involvement of President Bill Clinton, and Prime Ministers Tony 
Blair and Bertie Ahern. It spelled out in black and white an agenda and 
institutions for delivering justice and equality to both traditions 
within a framework of inclusive self-government.
  Our annual Saint Patrick's Day celebrations since 1998 have been an 
opportunity to take stock of the progress toward full implementation of 
the Good Friday Accords. I for one have approached this day each year 
with the hope that we might finally declare that the Accords were fully 
functioning, and that violence and terror were no longer a part of the 
fabric of Northern Ireland's society.
  Sadly, this Saint Patrick's day we struggle to call the glass half 
full with respect to progress on the Accords. The Northern Ireland 
Assembly is in suspension, the assembly's Executive is vacant. The 
parties are deadlocked over what must be done to restart the process. 
Collectively, Northern Ireland's political leaders must accept 
responsibility for the political impasse that now exists. But Sinn Fein 
and the IRA carry a heavier burden than others for restarting the 
process. Sinn Fein, as an organization, must commit itself fully and 
unequivocally to solely political means to advance its agenda of 
equality and inclusion. There is no place in a democracy for a 
political organization to have its own private paramilitary 
organization. Sinn Fein cannot call itself a democratic organization if 
it does not severe all ties with the IRA, an organization which 
espouses, condones, and covers up unlawful acts such as murder and 
robbery. And, if the IRA is in fact committed to the full 
implementation of the Peace Accords as it has publicly stated, then it 
must fully and verifiably decommission its weapons and go out business 
entirely.
  In my opinion, nothing short of these actions is going to repair the 
damage done to the peace process by the recent acts of criminality by 
the IRA. Public demonstrations by the Catholic community in Belfast in 
support of the McCartney sisters' quest for justice made it patently 
obvious that whatever support might have existed for the IRA in that 
community exists no longer. It is very clear that the people of 
Northern Ireland want to live in peace--they want an end to vigilantism 
and intimidation--they want transparency and the rule of law. They want 
a future for themselves and their children.
  Today, Northern Ireland is a struggling democracy--at a crossroad. 
Elections have occurred. Elected representatives have been chosen. The 
mechanisms of self-government are clearly spelled out in the Good 
Friday Accords. Everyone knows what needs to be done to move the 
process forward. I hope and pray that those with the power to make a 
difference will have the courage to do the right thing. The people of 
Northern Ireland deserve and expect nothing less.

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