Republican News · Thursday 27 March 2002

Montreal support for Colombia Three

On Tuesday 25 March, a delegation organised by the Coalition for Peace in Ireland (CPI) delivered a letter of support for the three Irishmen held in Bogota to the Colombian consulate in Montreal, Quebec.

Along with CPI representatives Georges Beriault and Kevin Callahan, also on the delegation were Christopher Deehy, a lawyer, Manon Perron, representing the 80,000 strong Montreal Central Council of the CSN trade union federation, and Warren Allmand, former MP and solicitor general of Canada.

The letter, addressed to the president of Colombia, expressed concerns that the men cannot get a fair trial and called for their immediate repatriation to Ireland. Allmand declared that, given the contradictory statements of prosecution witnesses and the statments made by Colombian politicians to the media concerning the men's guilt, in most countries a mistrial would already have been declared. Perron stressed the support of the CSN for the liberation of the three.

The Montreal Central Council has already written to the Colombian government and will continue to bring pressure to bear on the case. CPI spokesperson, Kevin Callahan, said that the delegation was part of an ongoing campaign in Montreal to build support for the three imprisoned Irishmen. Callahan said the CPI intends to seek support in other Canadian cities and would be returning to the consulate with picket lines if need be.