Adams appeals for help in finding IRA ‘disappeared’

Adams appeals for help in finding IRA ‘disappeared’
MICHAEL BRENNAN DEPUTY POLITICAL EDITOR
Irish Independent
22 JUNE 2013

SINN Fein leader Gerry Adams is calling for information in finding the bodies of victims secretly killed and buried in unknown locations by the IRA, despite still being implicated in such murders himself.

Mr Adams continues to be hounded by accusations from former IRA members that he ordered the kidnap and murder of Belfast mother-of-10 Jean McConville in 1972.

The Catholic woman was among dozens of people – later known as the ‘disappeared’ – who were abducted, murdered and secretly buried by the IRA during the Troubles.

The Sinn Fein leader is continually named as a leader of the Provos throughout that period.

IRA Old Bailey bomber Dolours Price, who died in January, and another former IRA member, the late Brendan Hughes, both claimed Mr Adams ordered the killing and burial of Ms McConville – one of the most notorious murders of the Troubles.

Mr Adams has repeatedly denied ever having been in the IRA or any knowledge of Ms McConville’s killing.

Labour Party TD Sean Kenny said nobody believed Mr Adams’s many denials of being a senior IRA commander in the past.

“If he is appealing to people who are not coming forward and being helpful, then that is to be welcomed,” he said.

Mr Adams is now calling for “anyone with information” on the whereabouts of those secretly killed and buried by the IRA to come forward.

His comments come as Hollywood star Liam Neeson and fellow actor James Nesbitt also issued an appeal for information on the seven of the ‘disappeared’ whose bodies have still not been found.

In total, 17 people were murdered and buried in secret, mainly by the Provisional IRA, during the Troubles.

Ten bodies have been recovered but a further seven have never been found.

Those missing include west Belfast IRA men Joe Lynskey and Brendan McGraw, as well as Captain Robert Nairac of the SAS. All three were killed by the IRA.

Mr Adams said he wanted to appeal again for anyone with any information on those killed and secretly buried by the IRA to contact the families, the Commission for the Location of Victims’ Remains or himself.

The Commission for the Location of Victims’ Remains was set up after the 1998 Good Friday Agreement to get confidential information that might lead to the location of those whose bodies have never been found.

IRA Disappeared victim Jean McConville’s murder should be treated as a “war crime”

IRA Disappeared victim Jean McConville’s murder should be treated as a “war crime”
News Letter
20 June 2013

Jean McConville’s IRA killers should stand trial at the Hague, her son has said.

Michael McConville, who was aged 11 when his mother was snatched from her west Belfast home more than 40 years ago, claimed her death should be treated a war crime.

“Those that took my mother away and senior Sinn Fein figures that supported them should be rounded up and made to stand trial at the War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague, but that will never happen, not in this country,” he said.

Mrs McConville, a widowed mother-of-10 was one of 17 people abducted, killed and secretly buried by republican paramilitaries during the Troubles.

She was dragged from her home at Divis flats by a gang of up to 18 IRA men and women in January 1972.

Her body was found more than three decades later at Shelling Beach, Co Louth in August 2003. Forensic tests revealed she had been badly beaten and shot in the back of the head.

The discovery was made by a member of the public.

Mr McConville, who spent five years in a children’s home separated from his siblings after his mother’s disappearance, said the family still had many unanswered questions.

“Apparently this man came across her body by accident; he found a rag and started digging with his kids’ bucket and spade and then he came across a human bone and when he dug some more he got her body.

“This is the official version but the family have always disputed this; I think it is too convenient. My mother was missing for over 30 years and her body just happened to be found on a beach by a man playing with his kids,” he added.

To date the bodies of 10 people – who became known as The Disappeared – have been recovered.

A further seven people including west Belfast IRA man Joe Lynskey, Brendan McGraw from Twinbrook and SAS-trained officer Captain Robert Nairac have never been found.

Writing in a new book alongside relatives of other victims, Mr McConville recalled the frantic moments he last saw his mother alive.

“A rap came to the door and a gang of men and women piled into the flat. They were looking for our mother and when they got her they tried to pull her outside. We were all crying and holding on to her so they stopped and tried to calm us down; they said that (his brother) Archie could go with her but when they got Archie and mother outside they told Archie to **** off. We looked from the balcony as they bundled her into a van. There were two cars with men and women in them, in total there was about 18 people who took my mother away. I have no idea why it took so many as she wasn’t a big woman.”

Former IRA man Brendan ‘Darkie’ Hughes, who led the 1981 hunger strike, claimed Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams had authorised the abduction of Jean McConville.

The allegations were made in a series of interviews which Hughes gave to a researcher for Boston College in 2001 and 2002 on the condition the material would not be publicised until after his death.

Old Bailey bomber Dolours Price, who died earlier this year, also alleged Mr Adams had been her IRA Officer Commanding during the early 1970s and specifically implicated him in the murder of Jean McConville.

Mr Adams, now a Louth TD, has always denied being a member of the IRA.

Meanwhile, a fourth search is being carried out in Co Monaghan for the body of Columba McVeigh who disappeared from Dublin in 1975.

Also, writing in the new book, his brother Oliver said more should be done to recover the bodies of those still missing.

“In my opinion Sinn Fein and the IRA need to answer for what they have done. They may have admitted to their sins, they may feel their conscience has been cleansed and that all of us will just go away in time but this is not over by a long shot. They need to recover all the bodies.

“We have all waited and suffered for long enough. I know there are people out there who know something. Gerry Adams once said that he was ‘prepared to do everything humanly possible to help recover Columba’s remains but he hasn’t. It’s obvious he was only paying lip service to the issue. If they put the same effort into finding the bodies of The Disappeared as they did into getting the political institutions up and running all the bodies would have been found by now,” Mr McVeigh said.

The Commission for the Location of Victims Remains was set up after the 1998 Good Friday peace agreement to obtain information, in confidentiality, which may lead to the location of the remains of victims.

Information provided to the commission cannot be used for a criminal prosecution and cannot be disclosed.

Kieran McGraw, whose 24-year-old brother Brendan went missing from Twinbrook in 1978, appealed for anyone with information about the Disappeared to come forward.

He said: “Our mother died in 2002 and I know Brendan’s disappearance had a massive impact on her. Mammy tried her best to conceal it outwardly but I knew she was suffering on the inside.

“It is immensely frustrating that our mother died before we could bring Brendan’s body home to Belfast for him to have a Christian burial.”

The book, The Disappeared Of Northern Ireland’s Troubles, will be launched at Belfast’s Lyric Theatre tomorrow at 11am.

A total of 17 people were acknowledged as Disappeared – abducted, murdered and secretly buried by republican paramilitaries – during the Troubles.

In 1999, the British and Irish governments set up the Independent Commission for the Location of Victims’ Remains (ICLVR) to help co-ordinate searches.

To date, 10 bodies have been recovered.

They are:

:: Eugene Simons disappeared from Castlewellan in 1981. His body was recovered on May 24 1984 in a bog in Dundalk, Co Louth.

:: Eamonn Molloy disappeared in 1975. His body was recovered on May 28 1999 in a coffin at the Old Faughart Cemetery outside Dandily, Co Louth.

:: John McClory disappeared in 1978. His body was recovered on June 30 1999 at Colgagh, Inniskeen, Co Monaghan.

:: Brian McKinney disappeared in 1978. His body was recovered on June 30 1999 at Colgagh, Inniskeen, Co Monaghan.

:: Jean McConville disappeared in 1972. Her body was recovered on August 27 2003 at Shelling Beach, Co Louth.

:: Gareth O’Connor disappeared in 2003. His body was recovered on June 11 2005 at Victoria Quay, Newry Canal, Co Louth.

:: Danny McIlhone disappeared in 1981. His body was recovered on November 10 2008 at Blessingtown, Co Wicklow.

:: Charlie Armstrong disappeared in 1981. His body was recovered on July 29 2010 at Colgagh, Iniskeen, Co Monaghan.

:: Gerry Evans disappeared in 1979. His body was recovered on October 15 2010 at Carrickrobin, Co Louth.

:: Peter Wilson disappeared in 1973. His body was recovered on November 2 2010 at Red Bay, Waterfoot, Glenariff, Co Antrim.

A further seven bodies remain to be found.

:: Joe Lynskey disappeared in 1972 from west Belfast. His case became prominent in December 2009 and was added to the list of Disappeared in 2010.

:: Kevin McKee disappeared in 1972 from west Belfast with Seamus Wright. A search conducted at Wilkingstown, Co Navan failed to locate his body.

:: Seamus Wright disappeared from west Belfast in 1972 with Kevin McKee.

:: Columba McVeigh disappeared in 1975. Searches have been conducted at Emyvale Forest, Co Monaghan.

:: Captain Robert Nairac disappeared in 1977 from a south Armagh pub. He was murdered and secretly buried.

:: Brendan Megraw disappeared in 1978 from Twinbrook. Searches have been conducted in Oristown, Co Navan.

:: Seamus Ruddy disappeared in 1985 in Paris. His body has never been recovered despite a search being conducted in 1999 and again in 2008 at a forest near Rouen, France.

‘Treat mother’s death as war crime’

‘Treat mother’s death as war crime’
Belfast Telegraph
20 JUNE 2013

Jean McConville’s IRA killers should stand trial at the Hague, her son has said.

Michael McConville, who was aged 11 when his mother was snatched from her west Belfast home more than 40 years ago, claimed her death should be treated a war crime.

“Those that took my mother away and senior Sinn Fein figures that supported them should be rounded up and made to stand trial at the War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague, but that will never happen, not in this country,” he said.

Mrs McConville, a widowed mother-of-10 was one of 17 people abducted, killed and secretly buried by republican paramilitaries during the Troubles. She was dragged from her home at Divis flats by a gang of up to 18 IRA men and women in January 1972.

Her body was found more than three decades later at Shelling Beach, Co Louth, in August 2003. Forensic tests revealed she had been badly beaten and shot in the back of the head. The discovery was made by a member of the public.

Mr McConville, who spent five years in a children’s home separated from his siblings after his mother’s disappearance, said the family still had many unanswered questions.

“Apparently this man came across her body by accident; he found a rag and started digging with his kids’ bucket and spade and then he came across a human bone and when he dug some more he got her body. This is the official version but the family have always disputed this; I think it is too convenient. My mother was missing for over 30 years and her body just happened to be found on a beach by a man playing with his kids,” he added.

To date the bodies of 10 people – who became known as The Disappeared – have been recovered. A further seven people including west Belfast IRA man Joe Lynskey, Brendan McGraw from Twinbrook and SAS-trained officer Captain Robert Nairac have never been found.

Meanwhile, a fourth search is being carried out in Co Monaghan for the body of Columba McVeigh who disappeared from Dublin in 1975. Writing in a new book, The Disappeared Of Northern Ireland’s Troubles, which will be launched at Belfast’s Lyric Theatre on Friday, alongside relatives of other victims, his brother Oliver said more should be done to recover the bodies of those still missing.

“In my opinion Sinn Fein and the IRA need to answer for what they have done. They may have admitted to their sins, they may feel their conscience has been cleansed and that all of us will just go away in time but this is not over by a long shot. They need to recover all the bodies,” he said.

Jean McConville murder: Son says IRA killers should stand trial for war crimes

Jean McConville murder: Son says IRA killers should stand trial for war crimes
BY LESLEY-ANNE MCKEOWN
Belfast Telegraph
20 JUNE 2013

Jean McConville’s IRA killers should stand trial at the Hague, her son has said.

Michael McConville, who was aged 11 when his mother was snatched from her west Belfast home more than 40 years ago, claimed her death should be treated a war crime.

“Those that took my mother away and senior Sinn Fein figures that supported them should be rounded up and made to stand trial at the War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague, but that will never happen, not in this country,” he said.

Mrs McConville, a widowed mother-of-10 was one of 17 people abducted, killed and secretly buried by republican paramilitaries during the Troubles.

She was dragged from her home at Divis flats by a gang of up to 18 IRA men and women in January 1972.

Her body was found more than three decades later at Shelling Beach, Co Louth in August 2003. Forensic tests revealed she had been badly beaten and shot in the back of the head.

The discovery was made by a member of the public.

Mr McConville, who spent five years in a children’s home separated from his siblings after his mother’s disappearance, said the family still had many unanswered questions.

“Apparently this man came across her body by accident; he found a rag and started digging with his kids’ bucket and spade and then he came across a human bone and when he dug some more he got her body.

“This is the official version but the family have always disputed this; I think it is too convenient. My mother was missing for over 30 years and her body just happened to be found on a beach by a man playing with his kids,” he added.

To date the bodies of 10 people – who became known as The Disappeared – have been recovered.

A further seven people including west Belfast IRA man Joe Lynskey, Brendan McGraw from Twinbrook and SAS-trained officer Captain Robert Nairac have never been found.

Writing in a new book alongside relatives of other victims, Mr McConville recalled the frantic moments he last saw his mother alive.

“A rap came to the door and a gang of men and women piled into the flat. They were looking for our mother and when they got her they tried to pull her outside. We were all crying and holding on to her so they stopped and tried to calm us down; they said that (his brother) Archie could go with her but when they got Archie and mother outside they told Archie to **** off. We looked from the balcony as they bundled her into a van. There were two cars with men and women in them, in total there was about 18 people who took my mother away. I have no idea why it took so many as she wasn’t a big woman.”

Former IRA man Brendan ‘Darkie’ Hughes, who led the 1981 hunger strike, claimed Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams had authorised the abduction of Jean McConville.

The allegations were made in a series of interviews which Hughes gave to a researcher for Boston College in 2001 and 2002 on the condition the material would not be publicised until after his death.

Old Bailey bomber Dolours Price, who died earlier this year, also alleged Mr Adams had been her IRA Officer Commanding during the early 1970s and specifically implicated him in the murder of Jean McConville.

Mr Adams, now a Louth TD, has always denied being a member of the IRA.

Meanwhile, a fourth search is being carried out in Co Monaghan for the body of Columba McVeigh who disappeared from Dublin in 1975.

Also, writing in the new book, his brother Oliver said more should be done to recover the bodies of those still missing.

“In my opinion Sinn Fein and the IRA need to answer for what they have done. They may have admitted to their sins, they may feel their conscience has been cleansed and that all of us will just go away in time but this is not over by a long shot. They need to recover all the bodies.

“We have all waited and suffered for long enough. I know there are people out there who know something. Gerry Adams once said that he was ‘prepared to do everything humanly possible to help recover Columba’s remains but he hasn’t. It’s obvious he was only paying lip service to the issue. If they put the same effort into finding the bodies of The Disappeared as they did into getting the political institutions up and running all the bodies would have been found by now,” Mr McVeigh said.

The Commission for the Location of Victims Remains was set up after the 1998 Good Friday peace agreement to obtain information, in confidentiality, which may lead to the location of the remains of victims.

Information provided to the commission cannot be used for a criminal prosecution and cannot be disclosed.

Kieran McGraw, whose 24-year-old brother Brendan went missing from Twinbrook in 1978, appealed for anyone with information about the Disappeared to come forward.

He said: “Our mother died in 2002 and I know Brendan’s disappearance had a massive impact on her. Mammy tried her best to conceal it outwardly but I knew she was suffering on the inside.

“It is immensely frustrating that our mother died before we could bring Brendan’s body home to Belfast for him to have a Christian burial.”

The book, The Disappeared Of Northern Ireland’s Troubles, will be launched at Belfast’s Lyric Theatre tomorrow at 11am.

Federal Court Rules that Subpoenas are Its Domain, Boston College Still Directed to Comply

Federal Court Rules that Subpoenas are Its Domain, Boston College Still Directed to Comply
Higher Education Highlights – Summer 2013
JD Supra Law News
by James D. Taylor and Nichole C. Alling

University lawyers are well-accustomed to responding to broad reaching and burdensome subpoenas.

Many are mundane, requiring little substantive work, but occasionally the subpoena touches on more important issues and principles.

That is precisely what happened recently in the First Circuit Court of Appeals.

There, the court held that “the enforcement of subpoenas is an inherent judicial function which, by virtue of the doctrine of separation of powers, cannot be constitutionally divested from the courts of the United States.” United States of America v. Trustees of Boston College, No. 12-1236 (1st Cir. May 31, 2013).

The decision – which comes after years of dispute between Boston College and the United States government over the government’s August 2011 subpoena seeking oral histories collected by Boston College for the school’s “Belfast Project” – further clarified the role of the federal courts in the enforcement of subpoenas and rejected the government’s position that courts have no discretion under 18 U.S.C. § 3512 and the US-UK MLAT (a 1996 Treaty between the United States and the United Kingdom on mutual legalassistance in criminal matters) to review subpoenas issued pursuant to the US-UK MLAT.

The government’s August 2011 subpoena resulted from a request by the UK to the U.S. government pursuant to the US-UK MLAT for assistance in investigating the 1974 disappearance of a woman in Belfast, and sought to gain access to Boston College’s Belfast Project materials to help it do so.

Of specific interest were a number of interviews and testimonies of former participants in the oft-violent independence movement in Northern Ireland, which were a part of the numerous oral histories that comprised the Belfast Project.

Due to strict confidentiality agreements with the interviewees, Boston College closely monitored use of the project materials and restricted access for research and study purposes.

It was not surprising then that Boston College filed a motion to quash the government’s August 2011 subpoena.

But the college’s request was denied and the District Court of Massachusetts ordered the production of 85 Belfast Project interviews.

Boston College appealed that decision, which led the First Circuit Court of Appeals to consider the federal courts’ constitutional position to review and control the process of executing a subpoena request.

Reviewing both the language of the US-UK MLAT and the constitutional role and reasoning behind the U.S.’s tri-furcated balance of powers, the Court of Appeals rejected the government’s position that only the Attorney General, and not the courts, could review subpoenas issued pursuant to the US-UK MLAT.

According to the court, if its conclusion were other-wise, federal courts would be no more than “rubber stamps for commissioners appointed pursuant to the treaty” and subpoenas issued by the executive branch would be “automatically enforced by the courts” in such a way that the executive branch would “virtually exercise judicial powers.”

That, the court found, would be contrary to the constitution.

After finding it had discretion to review enforcement of the August 2011 subpoena, the court then found that the subpoena materials were to be reviewed under an “ordinary standard of relevance,” declining Boston College’s request that review be under a heightened “direct relevance” standard.

Nevertheless, the court held that the district court abused its discretion by directing the production of certain Belfast Project materials irrelevant to the government’s August 2011 subpoena.

Exercising its “inherent judicial function,” the court reduced the number of oral histories ordered for production from 85 to 11.

President Obama’s visit to North comes at a critical time for peace process

President Obama’s visit to North comes at a critical time for peace process
Hopes that he can help stop slow slide into the dark side
Periscope by Niall O’Dowd
Irish Central
Monday, June 17, 2013

Don’t look now but President Obama’s trip to Northern Ireland is coming at a critical time.

Contrary to some opinion it is a vital visit.

His speech at Waterfront Hall was less significant for what he said rather than the fact that he made it.

When the President of the United States pays attention to an issue then everyone else does too.

It is American soft power at its best and it has always worked in Northern Ireland.

It was no coincidence that British leader David Cameron met Northern Ireland’s two leaders, Peter Robinson and Martin McGuinness, last week and announced a major economic package.

In addition, he announced an investment conference for October aimed at bringing new industry to Northern Ireland.

The announcement came after strong pleading from the North that the gains of the peace process were endangered if there was not a significant increase in economic activity leading to jobs and opportunity.

It is doubtful that the new initiatives would have happened if the United States president was not on his way.

Northern Ireland has languished out of the headlines and a gradual erosion of the peace process has taken place.

Most serious was the issue of securocrats attempting to undermine the peace agenda.

Last month Irishman John Downey was arrested in Gatwick Airport and charged with the Hyde Park bombings and death of four soldiers in 1982.

Deeply significant was the fact that Downey had been assured in a letter that following the peace process, he was free to come and go in the general amnesty that prevailed.

There are many horrific and unsolved murders from all sides during The Troubles. Clearly there are groups within the British establishment, given the Boston College subpoenas and now John Downey who want to start the war all over again.

That is why the visit of President Obama is so vital.

Coverage of Northern Ireland exposes these latest negative developments and also forces politicians there on all sides to make greater efforts to reach agreement on issues.

It was thus during President Clinton’s time when many major developments occurred in the arc of a visit by the U.S. president. George Bush, in fairness, also helped achieve breakthroughs.

Now it is Obama’s turn and his visit is a critical moment in cementing a peace that has looked even more uneasy in recent times.

LETTER: Senator Menendez told Congressional Hearing Needed into Eric Holder’s UK MLAT Subpoenas

ANCIENT ORDER OF HIBERNIANS
BREHON LAW SOCIETY
IRISH AMERICAN UNITY CONFERENCE

June 8, 2013

Honorable Robert Menendez
Chairman, Foreign Relations Committee
U. S. Senate
SD-444
Washington, D. C. 20510

Dear Chairman Menendez:

This will serve to follow-up our letter of March 20th regarding the British use of the U.S.-U.K. Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) to obtain records from the Irish archives of Boston College.

We hope you will reiterate to Secretary of State Kerry the same concerns you expressed to Secretary Clinton about the British subpoenas.

We believe it is time for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to undertake a comprehensive look at the progress being made in fully implementing the 1998 Belfast Agreement between the U.K. and Ireland, and in the workings of the U.S.-U.K. MLAT amended and signed on December 16, 2004 and ratified by the Senate in May, 2008 (Exec. Rept.110-13).

The former treaty, called the Good Friday Agreement (GFA), has been supported by three U.S. Presidents, by Congress, and by the American taxpayer, but has not been critically examined in any detail in terms of its achievements or difficulties.

The more recent MLAT treaty has been the subject of legal challenges related to the British request for documents at Boston College.

We believe that in the instance of this British subpoena, the Cameron government has misused or been duped into a political use of the MLAT which was to be primarily dedicated to the ongoing prosecution of major transnational crimes related to money laundering, drug, or human trafficking, or terrorist investigations.

As we have previously indicated, the Committee on the Administration of Justice in N.I. has provided substantial documentation to the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe of how exactly the British have undermined the goals of key ‘justice’ provisions of the GFA.

Not only have they failed to fully cooperate as in the Dublin-Monaghan bombings, but they are actively covering up the crimes intended to be investigated by the Historical Enquiries Team.

And in a supreme act of hubris, the Cameron government unilaterally dismissed a solemn obligation of the U.N. registered Treaty to allow a public inquiry into the murder of attorney Patrick Finucane.

Sir Jeremy Heywood, the Cabinet Secretary, questioned how this could be indicating, “[T]his was a dark moment in the country’s history…..far worse than anything that was alleged in Afghanistan.”

It is our position that Britain’s actions, with respect to these justice provisions in the 1998 Belfast Treaty and the 2011 MLAT request for documents from Boston College, reflects a nation that is committed neither to the letter nor spirit of treaty requirements.

Why indeed would Prime Minister Cameron use a treaty intended primarily for ongoing investigations of major terrorist and money laundering crimes to seek records of dubious value for a killing 40 years earlier while the British Army was violently crushing the N.I. civil rights movement?

We hope the Committee can explore whether this subpoena request has more to do with political smear and malice than with a burning desire for the rule of law.

Moreover, we believe the Committee should clarify whether Congress ever intended for the MLAT to be used to trample constitutional liberties and permit the corruption of law in the process.

This vigilance is necessary.

Ms. Jane Winter of Human Rights Watch, an independent NGO, recently stated:

“Friends in N.I., the U.S., and the Republic shouldn’t take their eye off the ball [the GFA] …especially those in the U.S. who made …[the Agreement] … possible and kept it alive. Their scrutiny is vital to insuring that N.I. doesn’t slip back into undeclared war.”

Former Senator George Mitchell stated it more succinctly at a public symposium in NYC recently: “It is not over!”

As you know, the Chairs of the Ad Hoc Committee on Irish Affair and the Friends of Ireland have recently expressed similar concerns for progress on the peace pact and the mischievous nature of the MLAT request.

We hope the Committee will consider these issues and choose to shed more light on the subject with public hearings.

If there are any questions or we can provide further information, please do not hesitate to contact us.

As always we will be happy to meet at any time to discuss this further.

We have attached our most recent letters to Attorney General Holder and Secretary Kerry.

Sincerely,

Mr. Brendan Moore
National President
Ancient Order of Hibernians

Mr. Sean Downes Esq.
President
Brehon Law Society

Mr. Thomas J. Burke Jr. Esq.
National President
Irish American Unity Conference

cc: Senator Bob Corker, R.M.

LETTER: Secretary of State John Kerry Asked to Intervene on Boston College Subpoenas

ANCIENT ORDER OF HIBERNIANS
BREHON LAW SOCIETY
IRISH AMERICAN UNITY CONFERENCE

June 5, 2013

Mr. John Kerry
Secretary of State
Office of the Secretary
U. S. Department of State
2201 C St NW
Washington, D. C 20520

Dear Secretary Kerry:

As you know, the litigation challenge to the British subpoena request for records held in the Irish archives of Boston College is near an end.

However, Britain’s misuse of the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty and the broader policy implications if the subpoena request is granted are still of great concern to us.

As Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee you were the first Member of Congress to register objections to the sealed subpoenas with Attorney General Holder and with your predecessor Secretary of State Clinton.

Your fears for the Irish peace process, progress on the Belfast Agreement, truth and reconciliation, academic inquiry and constitutional liberties are as valid now as they were when you expressed them in January, 2012.

This is an American issue.

It is in America’s best interest to not enforce but return the subpoenas to the United Kingdom.

At a recent congressional hearing, Representative Chris Smith, the Co-Chair of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, spoke of Britain’s refusal to hold anyone accountable for the murder of Patrick Finucane stating, “…the decision not to proceed with the public inquiry is a glaring public breach of faith …calling into question the British government’s commitment to peace and reconciliation.”

Indeed, Mr. Secretary, you have correctly identified this subpoena issue as another example of how Britain is slowly and systematically disassembling the Belfast Treaty.

These are but two of many examples of how the Cameron government is abusing America’s trust, mocking our commitment to the Belfast Agreement and damaging our credibility with other nations.

During Secretary Clinton’s term we met twice on this issue with State officials.

Mr. Jake Sullivan and Mr. William Gill were present but were unable or unwilling to answer our most basic questions.

They seemed unfamiliar with the progress of the Irish peace process and were unfamiliar with any of the reports of the Committee for the Administration of Justice which depict in great detail how Great Britain is observing neither the letter nor the spirit of the 1998 Belfast Agreement (as amended).

We hope that your familiarity with this issue and long association with the workings of the peace process will mean a fresh examination of the facts and a fresh approach.

As you know, the Secretary of State has a key role to play in any U.S. response to a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) request, and your objections to the satisfaction of these Boston College subpoenas must be weighed by Attorney General Holder before complying and submitting any documents obtained by him.

We include our letter to the Attorney General citing what we view is a misuse and misapplication of the treaty’s purpose particularly where it conflicts with the spirit of the 1998 Agreement and representations made to you in the Senate during ratification of the U.S.-U.K. Extradition Treaty in 2006.

Your former colleagues in Congress who also have joined the subpoena opposition reflect our determined attempt to garner bi-partisan support to stop their enforcement.

Indeed, the Co-Chairs of the Ad Hoc Committee of Irish Affairs, Representatives Chris Smith and Peter King, as well as the Co-Chairs of the Friends of Ireland, Representatives Richard Neal and Joseph Crowley, have recently adopted resolutions reiterating their concerns for the Good Friday Agreement and citing the failure of the British government to abide by its terms particularly with respect to the Finucane murder.

Neal and Crowley have specifically expressed their opposition to the subpoenas and their potential to undermine the Irish peace process.

Last year many Member of Congress voiced their opposition to the Russian killing of attorney Sergei Magnitsky and then affirmed their commitment to the rule of law and justice by adopting statutory sanctions against those identified as responsible.

Such a measure may not be necessary in the Finucane case but America can underscore its commitment to the Irish peace process, the rule of law and justice by withholding any support of the MLAT subpoena request unless and until the Good Friday Agreements terms are respected and fulfilled.

We renew our request to meet at any time to discuss this further or answer any questions you may have.

Sincerely,

Mr. Brendan Moore
National President
Ancient Order of Hibernians

Mr. Sean Downes Esq.
President
Brehon Law Society

Mr. Thomas J. Burke Jr. Esq.
National President
Irish American Unity Conference

LETTER: Irish American Groups Against Subpoenas Want Action From Eric Holder

ANCIENT ORDER OF HIBERNIANS
BREHON LAW SOCIETY
IRISH AMERICAN UNITY CONFERENCE

June 4, 2013

Mr. Eric H. Holder Jr.
Attorney General
Office of the Attorney General
U. S. Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Ave. NW
Washington, D. C. 20510

Dear Attorney General Holder:

The litigation challenging the U.K. subpoena of records in the Irish archives of Boston College is at an end. The First Circuit Court of Appeals severely restricted the scope of the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) subpoena of the British government. This is a partial vindication of the litigants appeal and a rejection of the rubber-stamping of the subpoena request by your Department.

We have argued that the subpoena request of Britain is a misuse of the MLAT process which you must reject pursuant to three justifications provided for in the ratification documents.

Those reasons are:

• To grant the request would impair the essential interests of the U.S.;
• To do so would be contrary to important policy considerations; and
• The request is based on an offense of a political character.

Secretary of State Kerry has publicly specified that to grant the request would undermine the 1998 Belfast Agreement and representations made during the Senate ratification of the 2006 U.S.-U.K. Extradition Agreement.

The Secretary also expressed concern for the threat the subpoenas posed to constitutional freedoms and academic inquiry.

With respect to the political character of this request, you need only reference the decisions of federal jurist Naomi Rice Buchwald, Judge Juan Torruella of the First circuit Court of Appeals as well as British policy in effect in 1972.

In addition to the above considerations, we believe granting England’s request after their admission of murdering attorney Patrick Finucane offends every American’s sense of the rule of law and justice.

We again ask for you to reject the MLAT request.

We again ask to meet with you to discuss this matter further.

We hope and trust you will have the courtesy to dignify our request and promptly respond to our arguments with specificity.

Sincerely,

Mr. Brendan Moore
National President
Ancient Order of Hibernians

Mr. Sean Downes Esq.
President
Brehon Law Society

Mr. Thomas J. Burke Jr. Esq.
National President
Irish American Unity Conference

 

 

Irish American Groups Fighting BC Subpoenas Seek Action from Holder, Kerry, and Menendez

Irish American Groups Fighting BC Subpoenas Seek Action from Holder, Kerry, and Menendez
ANCIENT ORDER OF HIBERNIANS
BREHON LAW SOCIETY
IRISH AMERICAN UNITY CONFERENCE
NYC, NY & Denver, Colorado
June 10th

With legal options winding down on the British request for Boston College records, the three largest Irish-American groups have stepped up appeals to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, Secretary of State John Kerry, and Senator Robert Menendez, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

The First circuit Court of Appeals recently affirmed earlier rulings on the Attorney General’s issuance of the subpoenas but substantially reduced the scope of records which must be produced.

The National President of the Irish American Unity Conference, attorney Thomas J. Burke of Denver, CO stated:

“We certainly want the Attorney General to determine first whether this request is a valid use of the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT), and secondly, to use the discretion provided under the MLAT to deny the UK the requested records.”

“It is important that Mr. Holder seek the advice of Secretary of State John Kerry,” indicated Brendan Moore, National President of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, “as provided for in the Treaty, and for Secretary Kerry to document his concerns for the Irish peace process should any records be turned over to Great Britain.”

Concluded Sean Downes, President of the Brehon Law Society:

“As has been noted recently by a review of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, there are reasons to question the British commitment to the pact, especially with regard to the failure to hold an independent inquiry into the murder of N.I. civil rights attorney Patrick Finucane.

It is time for the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee to review not only the progress or lack thereof on the 1998 Belfast Treaty, but to explore the workings of the U.S.-U.K. Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty and the real purpose of these British subpoenas for records held at Boston College.”

The leaders remain steadfast in their belief that resolute action by the United States will demonstrate its commitment to the success of the GFA and to the integrity of the MLAT process.

The British subpoena request undermines both treaties and should be withdrawn.

---

June 4, 2013 Letter to Eric Holder

June 5, 2013 Letter to John Kerry

June 8, 2013 Letter to Robert Menendez