MAY 2005
www.celtic-connection.com
Page 19
Irish Politicians Support McCartneys
BELFAST - Four leading female Irish politicians have called on Sinn Fein to "match their words with deeds" in supporting the family of Robert McCartney.
The women, representing the four main parties in the Dail and Seanad, travelled to Belfast on April 29 to meet with the sisters and partner of the murdered east Belfast man.
Irish Labour Party deputy leader Liz McManus, former Fianna Fail deputy leader Senator Mary O'Rourke, Progressive Democrat and former Irish minister Liz O'Donnell and Senator Sheila Terry of Fine Gael praised the dignity bravery and honour of the family.
Robert McCartney (33), from the Short Strand area, was stabbed to death in Belfast city centre following an altercation which began in a bar on January 31.
The IRA has condemned the killing and expelled three members for their involvement, while Sinn Fein has also suspended and expelled a number of members after calling for people with information to come forward. However, no charges have yet been brought.
In a statement, the four Dublin politicians said they stood squarely behind the McCartneys in their campaign for justice, whose bravery was "in direct contrast to the cowardice displayed by Robert's killers."
"We also believe there has been a conspiracy of silence from both those involved in the murder and
those with knowledge about who was responsible," they said.
They said they were appealing to the Sinn Fein leadership and to all women members of the party, to "match their words with deeds." "It is deeply disappointing that many key questions put by Robert's sisters to the Sinn Fein leadership have not been answered," they said.
During his party's election manifesto launch in Belfast, leader Gerry Adams insisted Sinn Fein had faced up to its obligations. "We continue to support the McCartneys in their resolve to see their brother's murderers in court but we do not have the capacity to put those people in court," he said.
Minister Mocks Dying Pope
Reverend Stephen Dickinson, a Presbyterian minister in Lisburn, County Antrim and Orange Order chaplain, was called upon to resign for allegedly mocking the Pope while he was dying in the Vatican.
Sinn Fein and SDLP leaders responded angrily to reports that Dickinson mimicked the Pope's speech, which was altered by Parkinson's disease, and told anti-Catholic jokes. Dickinson has admitted to his actions but said that he did not mean to cause offence.
In total contrast Linfield football players wore black armbands as a mark of respect for the Pope when they played in Longford, their first game in the Republic in 20 years.
Finucane Family Refuses to Co-operate with New Act
BELFAST - One of the final acts of the outgoing British Parliament prior to the May 5 election, was to push through the legislation under which the inquiry will be held into the murder of Belfast solicitor Pat Finucane.
As expected, parts of the inquiry will be heard in private, which almost certainly means that the Finucane family will refuse to co-operate with it
The British Government cited "security concerns" for going against the express recommendations of Canadian judge Peter Cory and ignoring the pleas of Taoiseach Bertie Ahern.
In response, Geraldine Finucane, the widow of murdered Belfast solicitor Pat Finucane, has written to all senior judges in Britain urging them not to co-operate in any inquiry into her husband's killing under the terms of the Inquiries Act which was recently passed by the British Parliament.
The Finucane family have made it known that they will only co-operate with an inquiry in which all the proceedings are held in public, as recommended by Canadian judge Peter Cory.
Sellafield Poses Major Risk to Ireland
DUBLIN - An Irish nuclear watchdog has warned that the Sellafield nuclear reprocessing plant will pose a major threat to Ireland for another 150 years and has the potential to destroy the Irish food chain.
The plant operated by British Nuclear Fuels Ltd (BNFL) at Sellafield, just 60 miles from the Irish coast, could have devastating contamination consequences in the event of an accident or terrorist attack resulting in nuclear discharge into the Irish Sea
The plant makes mixed oxide (MOX) fuel for nuclear reactors out of a mixture of uranium and plutonium, the raw material for nuclear bombs, which is then transported by ship to other countries.
On April 14, the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland (RPII) issued a damning report and warned of the prospect of more radioactive discharges from the controversial operation.
Following the first-ever fact-finding mission to the plant, the RPII concluded there was still major concern over a potential terrorist attack; significant extra radioactive discharges into the Irish Sea during reprocessing contracts; and the potential for a catastrophic accident.
The threat will remain for another 150 years until the plant is finally decommissioned, the chilling report concludes. Leaks have also been identified in controversial radioactive liquid storage tanks known as HASTS (Highly Active Storage Tanks) and the radiological agency says this is a matter of concern.
"While the leaks involve minute volumes of liquid and have not resulted in a release of radioactivity to the environment, they do call into question the long-term integrity of the tanks and underline that the storage of high-level radioactive waste in liquid form is not sustainable," the report warns.
The agency also warns that while reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel at Sellafield is due to finish in 2012, "this may be difficult to achieve and Sellafield will still need significant investment for up to 150 years."
The RPII raised worrying concerns about the operation of the plant, the prospect of more radioactive discharges into the Irish Sea during decommissioning in coming years as well as real terrorist threats. It reveals how the UK authorities have withheld their assessments of terrorist attacks from the public domain "to protect information falling into the wrong hands."
However, the RPII report says, "While accepting fully the need to protect sensitive information about plant security, the lack of an established framework for assessing the adequacy of threat assessments and security arrangements remains a significant concern."
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