Breakaway group holds conference

Members of the small breakaway Republican Sinn Fein party are suffering harassment at the hands of British forces north and south of the Border, the president of RSF, Ruairi O Bradaigh, has claimed.

He said that the two governments are engaged in ``a campaign of harassment, smearing and felon-setting, with occasional show-trials'' to retard the development of his party.

The trial of the head of the so-called `Real IRA', Michael McKevitt, who was convicted in August on a charge of directing terrorism, was ``a well-publicised show-trial'', Mr O Bradaigh declared.

``He was sentenced to 20 years' imprisonment on the word of a paid agent-provocateur employed by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation and the British security services.''

The main witness, Mr David Rupert, Mr O Bradaigh alleged, had promised ``an unlimited supply of dollars'' to Republican Sinn Fein if it ``amalgamated with the 32-County Sovereignty Committee''.

He added: ``Republican Sinn Fein feels vindicated in its decision, on ideological grounds, to reject Mr Rupert's demands and his money, and to have nothing to do with him,'' he declared.

Mr O Bradaigh condemned last month's statement by the president of Sinn Fein, Mr Gerry Adams, for saying that Republicans ``are opposed to any use or threat of force for any political purpose''.

``Republican Sinn Fein bases its stand on the fact that Ireland is a sovereign nation, and sovereign nations the world over have the right to defend themselves and to resist foreign aggression.

``We state further that there will be no full and final closure to the conflict between Irish republicanism and English imperialism and colonialism until the British government signals to the world its intention of leaving Ireland forever.''

Urgent Appeal