U.S. House calls for independent Nelson and Finucane inquiries
The United States House of Representatives passed a resolution on
Wednesday, 21 April, calling for an independent inquiry into the
murders of civil rights lawyers Patrick Finucane and Rosemary Nelson.
Its passage is a reassuring sign that the calls for justice being
made around the world are being heard and acted upon somewhere. To
date, calls for an independent inquiry from the United Nations,
Amnesty International, The Lawyers Committee for Human Rights,
British Irish Human Rights Watch, the Committee for Administrative
Justice, Human Rights Watch and countless other organizations have
fallen on deaf ears in the British government.
Upon hearing the news, Sinn Féin spokesperson in Washington, D.C.,
Rita O'Hare, said: ``Sinn Féin welcomes the passage of this resolution
and commends Congressman Chris Smith for his hard work, and the rest
of the House for their overwhelming support for this resolution. It
is hugely important, particularly at this time of crisis in the peace
process, that there is a strong demonstration of support for justice
and truth in the north of Ireland. The importance of a
demonstratively democratic channel through which the fears and
concerns of nationalists can be heard was never more needed than at
this time.''
House Resolution 128, ``condemning the murder of human rights lawyer
Rosemary Nelson and calling for the protection of defence attorneys
in Northern Ireland'' went before the full House and passed with a
vote of 421 - 2. The resolution is strongly worded, and spells out
clearly what actions need to be taken in order to engender the faith
of the nationalist population. It calls on the British government to
launch an inquiry, ``totally independent of the RUC'', into the murder
of Rosemary Nelson, to institute in ``independent judicial inquiry
into allegations that defence attorneys are systematically harassed
and intimidated by security forces'' and to implement the ``UN special
Rapporteur's recommendation for an independent inquiry into the
possibility of collusion in the killing of defence lawyer Patrick
Finucane.''
Congressman Chris Smith, Chairman of the Subcommittee on
International Operations and Human Rights, recalled the testimony
Rosemary Nelson gave to his subcommittee and told the House: ``We need
to make the United Kingdom government take seriously the calls of the
United States, the United Nations, Amnesty International and
countless other organizations for an independent inquiry. In order to
do this, we need action, no more talk.''
Congressman Peter King spoke to the need of this faith, saying: ``If
the Good Friday Agreement is to work, there needs to be faith on all
sides. Allowing the RUC to investigate this murder tramples the faith
of nationalists.'' Congressman Donald Payne,who had earlier described
the RUC as an ``unlawful, undisciplined bunch of thugs'', likened
Rosemary Nelson's life to that of American civil rights advocate Rosa
Parks, saying that both women stared adversity in the face and kept
on working for the civil rights of all, despite the threats and
harassment they received.
Chris Smith's resolution recalls Rosemary Nelson's testimony before
the subcommittee and focuses on the ``consistent and systematic''
harassment and intimidation inflicted upon her by the RUC. It also
recalls UN Special Rapporteur Param Cumaraswamy's report and
recommendations that ``authorities other than the RUC conduct an
independent and impartial investigation of all threats to legal
counsel in Northern Ireland'' and ``where there is a threat to physical
integrity of a solicitor, the government should provide necessary
protection''. The resolution calls on the British government to:
(a) launch an inquiry totally independent of the RUC to gather
evidence, conduct the ground investigation, and issue a detailed,
public report on the murder of defence lawyer Rosemary Nelson (b) to
institute an independent judicial inquiry into allegations that
defence attorneys are systematically harassed and intimidated by
crown forces;
(c) to implement the United Nations Special Rapporteur's
recommendation for an independent inquiry into the possibility of
collusion in the killing of defense attorney Patrick Finucane.''
Joint FBI/RUC training banned
initiative by Congressmen Robert Menendez and Congressman Steve
Rothman got the ball rolling for an amendment to House Resolution
1211 - The State Department Authorization Bill, which called for an
end to RUC training by the FBI. After passionate debate about the
many reasons why the RUC should not be allowed to hide behind the
FBI, an amendment by Congressman Smith and Congressman King was added
to the resolution which banned the RUC from training with the FBI,
unless the President ``certifies that complete, independent, credible
and transparent investigations of the murders of defence attorneys
Rosemary Nelson and Patrick Finucane have been initiated by the
government of the United Kingdom and that the government has taken
appropriate steps to protect defence attorneys against RUC harassment
in Northern Ireland.''
Welcoming the move, Bairbre de Brún, Sinn Féin's spokesperson on
policing and justice said: ``The RUC has in recent weeks used the
reputation of other police forces to hide their own lack of
credibility. This move puts an end to that. The RUC has been clearly
implicated and has been guilty of the wholesale intimidation of
lawyers. Ronnie Flanagan has consistently refused to investigate or
challenge these threats or to confront RUC collusion with loyalist
death squads.''
Sinn Féin Upper Bann Assembly member Dara O'Hagan, a close friend of
the late Rosemary Nelson added: ``If the British government is serious
about justice and human rights, it can no longer ignore the concerns
of the Nelson family and the wider community.''
Prior to the weekend announcement that Flanagan was to initiate an
inquiry headed by John Stevens, the Pat Finucane Centre, the
Derry-based human rights group, said: ``This amendment highlights the
growing international concern at allegations of collusion in these
and other deaths. The time is past for damage limitation.
``It is now time for the British government to announce full and
independent inquiries. We will not settle for anything less.''
Sinn Féin's human rights spokesperson, Mary Nelis, said: ``The
testimony of Rosemary Nelson to Congress, the report of the UN
Special Rapporteur, and the concerns raised by the Independent
Commission on Police Complaints into threats against Rosemary Nelson
all add up to an undeniable case for an independent international
inquiry.''
House Committee Urges all to Remain Committed to Peace Process
The United States House of Representatives Committee on International
Relations approved a resolution on April 15 which honours the Good
Friday Agreement in Ireland and urges all parties involved to remain
committed to the peace process. Congressman Joseph Crowley, author of
the resolution, said: ``I introduced (the resolution) with the intent
to honour and celebrate as a Congress the one year of the Good Friday
Peace Accord and the involvement of Senator George Mitchell,
President Bill Clinton, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and Prime Minister
Tony Blair for their work in securing this important and historic
agreement.''
He continued, ``Unfortunately, though, the peace process has dealt
with some recent setbacks.
``I personally believe that Sinn Féin and Gerry Adams have been honest
peace brokers in the peace process and I find it troubling that David
Trimble and the Ulster Unionists have added preconditions to the
Agreement.''
Upon hearing of the resolution's passage, Sinn Féin Representative
Rita O'Hare said: ``Congressman Crowley's resolution is another
indication of the power and influence American support for the peace
process can have. Much work still needs to be done. We thank and
commend the Congressman for this resolution.''
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