Post by Wasp on Dec 22, 2010 17:46:58 GMT
IRA's robbery charade is insult to our intellect
A lack of evidence can in no way exculpate Sinn Fein -- so please, let's all drop the pretence, writes Celia Larkin
Sunday December 19 2010
THE WikiLeaks posting of memos on the 2004 Northern Bank robbery and the IRA position in relation to it seems to have rattled the Sinn Fein cage.
"At the time Gerry Adams and I rejected what we said were unfounded allegations. We do so again today. We publicly and privately challenged the former taoiseach to produce evidence to support his allegations and he failed," said Martin McGuinness.
It is interesting to listen to Martin McGuinness and indeed Gerry Adams claim that the IRA had no part in the Northern Bank robbery on December 20, 2004. In fact, what they said was that there was no evidence to support the allegations.
Does that mean that both Mr McGuinness and Mr Adams deny that the IRA had any hand, act or part in the murder of any of the "disappeared" -- some of whose bodies have been recovered over the last couple of years, much to the relief of the families?
There is no evidence the IRA murdered those individuals. The IRA just happens to know where the bodies were buried. Nor, indeed, was there evidence linking the IRA to the murder of Robert McCartney in January 2005.
You may recall the bravery of Mr McCartney's sisters and partners speaking out about IRA members being involved in his murder. Their outspokenness and the public reaction were serious enough for the IRA to expel three of its members, two of whom were senior volunteers. Likewise, Sinn Fein expelled seven of its members in relation to the case. The IRA subsequently offered to execute the individuals involved if Robert's sisters wanted that to happen. All very serious stuff. All very frightening stuff. But still no evidence to support a case in a legitimate court of law. (One individual, Terence Davidson, was accused of the murder but was acquitted.)
Do these guys really want us to believe that, just because there is no hard evidence that will stand up in court, the IRA was not involved in the Northern Bank robbery?
There were witnesses to Robert's murder, but the area was cleaned up so well that no evidence was left.
Let's go back a bit further. The IRA denied any involvement in Garda Jerry McCabe's murder. However, senior members of Sinn Fein negotiated on behalf of those who were involved, securing their early release under the Good Friday Agreement.
So why, you might ask, would the IRA involve itself in the Northern Bank robbery in 2004?
Well, I suppose £26.5m would fund quite a number of campaigns -- that is, if you wanted to fund campaigns of any sort. However, there is no 'evidence' that the IRA was involved in the robbery.
To understand the significance of the robbery, it is necessary to understand its context. In December of 2004, Tony Blair and Bertie Ahern had come up against a brick wall in their efforts to move the Northern peace process forward. While there were a number of strands of disagreement, the main sticking point was the demand by Ian Paisley that photographs of the decommissioned arms of the IRA be published in all of the newspapers.
On December 8, 2004, Blair and Ahern announced the agreement proposals to the media and informed the public of the sticking points. Ahern has said that Blair was most fearful of a collapse in negotiations with Sinn Fein. The then British Prime Minister wished to have a bilateral agreement with Sinn Fein separately, to draw a line under paramilitarism and criminality in return for demilitarising Northern Ireland. However, Ahern felt there should be a more comprehensive agreement which would include Unionists, even if that took a little more time.
Negotiations continued behind the scenes, and, while the 'photograph' issue was still a sticking point, it was felt that an agreement might be in sight.
Given the delicacy of the situation, Bertie Ahern was shocked to receive the news of the massive robbery from the Northern Bank.
All intelligence reports stated that the robbery must have had IRA involvement, given the level of organisation of the raiders. Remember, negotiations were ongoing in relation to removing paramilitarism and criminality from the North.
On January 7, 2005, Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) Chief Constable Hugh Orde confirmed that the PSNI was "confident that this crime was committed by the Provisional IRA".
Bertie Ahern confirmed to me on Thursday last week that he and Tony Blair were briefed by the Chief Constable and the Garda Commissioner in Downing Street on February 1, 2005. At that briefing, the Chief Constable and the Garda Commissioner confirmed their belief, following intensive intelligence operations, that the crime was committed by the Provisional IRA.
When a peace process is being negotiated, a line has to be drawn on past atrocities, and there were atrocities on all sides in Northern Ireland. What made the bank robbery different was its timing: right in the middle of negotiations to bring an end to paramilitarism and criminality.
'I suppose £26.5m would fund quite a number of campaigns -- if you wanted to fund campaigns of any sort'
We are all happy to see an end to violence. To see proper political process in Northern Ireland. None of us likes the idea of what went before, but happen it did. It's time to move on. But please don't insult our intelligence by pretending that crimes didn't happen.
Martin McGuinness also said, in response to WikiLeaks, "It was Gerry's view and my view that this was more to do with electoral rivalries."
I don't know what the Chief Constable or the Garda Commissioner had to do with electoral rivalries. They simply briefed the two leaders on the information they had.
Sinn Fein is currently riding high in the polls.
I am not surprised that its cage has been rattled by WikiLeaks. After all, who would want revelations of a £26.5m bank robbery to get in the way of a well-orchestrated -- and presumably well-financed -- election campaign?
Sunday Independent
A lack of evidence can in no way exculpate Sinn Fein -- so please, let's all drop the pretence, writes Celia Larkin
Sunday December 19 2010
THE WikiLeaks posting of memos on the 2004 Northern Bank robbery and the IRA position in relation to it seems to have rattled the Sinn Fein cage.
"At the time Gerry Adams and I rejected what we said were unfounded allegations. We do so again today. We publicly and privately challenged the former taoiseach to produce evidence to support his allegations and he failed," said Martin McGuinness.
It is interesting to listen to Martin McGuinness and indeed Gerry Adams claim that the IRA had no part in the Northern Bank robbery on December 20, 2004. In fact, what they said was that there was no evidence to support the allegations.
Does that mean that both Mr McGuinness and Mr Adams deny that the IRA had any hand, act or part in the murder of any of the "disappeared" -- some of whose bodies have been recovered over the last couple of years, much to the relief of the families?
There is no evidence the IRA murdered those individuals. The IRA just happens to know where the bodies were buried. Nor, indeed, was there evidence linking the IRA to the murder of Robert McCartney in January 2005.
You may recall the bravery of Mr McCartney's sisters and partners speaking out about IRA members being involved in his murder. Their outspokenness and the public reaction were serious enough for the IRA to expel three of its members, two of whom were senior volunteers. Likewise, Sinn Fein expelled seven of its members in relation to the case. The IRA subsequently offered to execute the individuals involved if Robert's sisters wanted that to happen. All very serious stuff. All very frightening stuff. But still no evidence to support a case in a legitimate court of law. (One individual, Terence Davidson, was accused of the murder but was acquitted.)
Do these guys really want us to believe that, just because there is no hard evidence that will stand up in court, the IRA was not involved in the Northern Bank robbery?
There were witnesses to Robert's murder, but the area was cleaned up so well that no evidence was left.
Let's go back a bit further. The IRA denied any involvement in Garda Jerry McCabe's murder. However, senior members of Sinn Fein negotiated on behalf of those who were involved, securing their early release under the Good Friday Agreement.
So why, you might ask, would the IRA involve itself in the Northern Bank robbery in 2004?
Well, I suppose £26.5m would fund quite a number of campaigns -- that is, if you wanted to fund campaigns of any sort. However, there is no 'evidence' that the IRA was involved in the robbery.
To understand the significance of the robbery, it is necessary to understand its context. In December of 2004, Tony Blair and Bertie Ahern had come up against a brick wall in their efforts to move the Northern peace process forward. While there were a number of strands of disagreement, the main sticking point was the demand by Ian Paisley that photographs of the decommissioned arms of the IRA be published in all of the newspapers.
On December 8, 2004, Blair and Ahern announced the agreement proposals to the media and informed the public of the sticking points. Ahern has said that Blair was most fearful of a collapse in negotiations with Sinn Fein. The then British Prime Minister wished to have a bilateral agreement with Sinn Fein separately, to draw a line under paramilitarism and criminality in return for demilitarising Northern Ireland. However, Ahern felt there should be a more comprehensive agreement which would include Unionists, even if that took a little more time.
Negotiations continued behind the scenes, and, while the 'photograph' issue was still a sticking point, it was felt that an agreement might be in sight.
Given the delicacy of the situation, Bertie Ahern was shocked to receive the news of the massive robbery from the Northern Bank.
All intelligence reports stated that the robbery must have had IRA involvement, given the level of organisation of the raiders. Remember, negotiations were ongoing in relation to removing paramilitarism and criminality from the North.
On January 7, 2005, Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) Chief Constable Hugh Orde confirmed that the PSNI was "confident that this crime was committed by the Provisional IRA".
Bertie Ahern confirmed to me on Thursday last week that he and Tony Blair were briefed by the Chief Constable and the Garda Commissioner in Downing Street on February 1, 2005. At that briefing, the Chief Constable and the Garda Commissioner confirmed their belief, following intensive intelligence operations, that the crime was committed by the Provisional IRA.
When a peace process is being negotiated, a line has to be drawn on past atrocities, and there were atrocities on all sides in Northern Ireland. What made the bank robbery different was its timing: right in the middle of negotiations to bring an end to paramilitarism and criminality.
'I suppose £26.5m would fund quite a number of campaigns -- if you wanted to fund campaigns of any sort'
We are all happy to see an end to violence. To see proper political process in Northern Ireland. None of us likes the idea of what went before, but happen it did. It's time to move on. But please don't insult our intelligence by pretending that crimes didn't happen.
Martin McGuinness also said, in response to WikiLeaks, "It was Gerry's view and my view that this was more to do with electoral rivalries."
I don't know what the Chief Constable or the Garda Commissioner had to do with electoral rivalries. They simply briefed the two leaders on the information they had.
Sinn Fein is currently riding high in the polls.
I am not surprised that its cage has been rattled by WikiLeaks. After all, who would want revelations of a £26.5m bank robbery to get in the way of a well-orchestrated -- and presumably well-financed -- election campaign?
Sunday Independent
