Posted on 03/03/2005 6:38:23 PM PST by aculeus
Sinn Fein suspended seven of its members last night as the crisis facing the party after the IRA's murder of Robert McCartney intensified.
The party said the men would be expelled if it was found that they had taken any part in the killing or subsequent forensic cover-up at Magennis's bar in central Belfast, or did not give "truthful accounts".
Gerry Adams said in a statement that he had been to see Mr McCartney's five sisters, who had given him a list of those allegedly involved in last month's killing, seven of whom were party members.
Speaking on the eve of the Sinn Fein party conference, Mr Adams said the suspensions had been carried out after a party investigation.
"I am deeply angry about the alleged involvement of a number of republicans in the killing of Robert McCartney," he said. "I believe that I am speaking for the broad republican constituency in publicly articulating my outrage and anger."
He said the seven had been instructed to provide "full and frank" statements but stopped short of telling them to go to the police, instead suggesting they approach the Police Ombudsman.
A sister of Mr McCartney has challenged a senior republican who denied his involvement in the murder during an exclusive newspaper interview to repeat his account in court.
Speaking in the republican-leaning Daily Ireland, Gerard "Jock" Davison insisted that while he became involved in a disagreement with Mr McCartney there was "not a snowball's chance in hell" he was involved in the murder. He said he had tried to calm things down.
Last night, the momentum for a meeting between Mr McCartney's family and President Bush was growing.
The US media, including CNN, the New York Times and Time magazine have picked up on the story of Mr McCartney's murder, increasing expectation of a White House meeting with the president.
A White House spokesman said it would be advisable for the five McCartney sisters to get visas.
It was revealed yesterday that the White House has cancelled all political invitations to its annual St Patrick's Day celebrations in Washington later this month in response to allegations of IRA involvement in bank robberies, money laundering and murder.
The move is being seen as a snub to Mr Adams, who makes the most of his high-profile trips to Washington. He will still travel to the capital but, to avoid possible confrontation over visas, Sinn Fein has announced that there will not be any of the fund-raising galas that normally accompany the trip.
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Ping.
I have to admire McCartney's sisters for squaring up to Sinn Fein and the IRA on this!
I think this is really a watershed moment for the Republican movement in Northern Ireland. There's a sense of people - pushing back - against the thuggery.
I would advise the family to continue to stay in front of the TV cameras though. If they stay in the public eye they remain safe.
God bless these women. And God help them in their grief.
BTW, I hope people realise just by reading that above statement, how SICK the Sinn Fein organisation is.
When Gerry Adams pretends that Sinn Fein are a 'legitimate' political party it's laughable.
Amen.
Adams is Ireland's Arafat.
I hope Bush does meet with the sisters but this story is not getting much attention here.
I think this is probably the most important times of the Irish 'troubles' since the civil rights movement of the early 1970's.
Like I said before, it's a 'watershed' time.
Any foreign affairs journalist worth their salt on the US side, would do well in following this story.
The sheer panic of the Shinners is palpable at the moment. Like rabbits caught in headlights.
Any day now we'll here about a "Louisiana National Liberation Army" dedicated to "Cajun culture and scientific socilism," and this liberal buffoon cartoonist will probably support them all the way.
"ant-homosexuality" should of course read "anti-homosexuality." My bad.
"Excepts" should also read "accepts." My bad again. I'm just incensed at the hypocrisy of the Left.
Egad. And now I see that I misspelled "socialism" as well. I must have been really upset.
I guess Mr. Spell Check really is your friend.
It looks like Sinn Fein is down to throwing Hail Mary passes(last ditch effort) to survive, at least under the current leadership.
Maybe there will be a permanent peaceful solution in my lifetime.
Blackened stomach?
Even now, concessions are being made to the murderers of McCarthy when Ahern endorsed the idea that the thugs could bypass the police and go to some other authority (Naula O'Loan) to give themselves in. The appeasement process continues, and even today, the shinners were caught smuggling in a lorry load of cigarettes from the Canary islands. Ahern does not have the balls to stand up to SF.
HEHEHE!
I wonder what Gerry thinks of 'Civil War'?
What about their supporters in the Boston area mainly the Kennedy/Kerry faction of the demcrat party.
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