N.Ireland - Storm over US official at Sinn Fein conference

Ulster Television, Belfast ^ | 2 October 2001 | Reporter

[Norn Iron]

Storm over US official at Sinn Fein conference

A senior US government official's appearance at the Sinn Fein annual conference cannot be justified given President Bush's war on terrorism, it has been claimed.

Stormont Enterprise Minister Sir Reg Empey called into question the decision by American Ambassador to Dublin, Richard Egan to attend the weekend Ard Fheis.

He said: "It amazes me, to be perfectly honest, how the diplomat concerned is going to be able to square that with the President`s onslaught on international terrorism."

Mr Egan was among the Dublin audience for Sinn Fein President Gerry Adam`s keynote address on Saturday.

Representatives from the Basque separatist group ETA`s political wing, the Batasuna Party, the Palestinian authority`s representative in Ireland and an ANC MP also attended the two-day event.

During ministerial question time in the Assembly today, Sir Reg was probed on the economic impact on Northern Ireland of last month`s terrorist attacks on America.

Sammy Wilson, of the DUP claimed local paramilitary groupings as well as international terrorism has brought economic instability to Northern Ireland.

He said: "While the government of the United States has been declaring war on terrorists the US Ambassador to Dublin attended the annual conference of IRA terrorists at which there were specifically invited the political representatives of a number of international groups which his government supposedly has declared war on."

Sir Reg stressed there was no fundamental difference between an attack on the World Trade Centre, Canary Wharf in London, or Belfast`s Great Victoria Street.

"There now appears to be a sort of artificial differentiation between terrorism and international terrorism," he said.

The minister pointed out that a significant amount of the arsenal used by paramilitary groupings during the Troubles either came from the US or was financed by American fund-raising efforts.

He added: "I will be looking forward with interest as to how that particular circle is to be squared.

"When one of the resolutions passed at that conference specifically castigated the United States Government for its involvement in Colombia I found that one very hard to figure out."

[jonatron]

I hope you could perceive that I posted this news item because of it's irony. Thanks to Adams' communist buddies, South Africa has become a thug-ocracy. I don't doubt that the IRA would also like to immitate Zimbabwe a bit.

[Colosis]

Wow man, Your blinding me with all this IRONY!

[jonatron]

You might as well adopt the Arab position on the war on terrorism - just say that you consider your marxist thugs to be "liberators" instead of terrorists

[tonycavanagh]

No I haven’t not the whole time I served out there, are you by any chance a aging hippy who use to shout baby killers at returning Vietnam .

Tony

[1Old Pro]

Adams isn't a democrat. He uses democracy to camouflage his terrorism. The only difference between Adams and Bin Laden is one of scale.

All terrorism should be stopped, regardless of what, where and whom.

[Colosis]

If we decend down the slippery slope you talk about, then the terrorists have succeeded in depraiving us of some of our liberty. I hope the right balance can be found - not a liberal balance, a GWB balance perhaps.

Don't you love post #23.

[Norn Iron]

Perhaps the war on terrorism and the war on drugs are related - opium and cocaine seem to feature.

[Benson_Carter]

I don't need the government depriving me of ANY liberty, not for ANY amount of safety!

"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
-Benjamin Franklin

"Experience should teach us to be most on our guard to protect liberty when the government's purposes are beneficent. Men born to freedom are naturally alert to repel invasion of their liberty by evil-minded rulers. The greatest dangers to liberty lurk in insidious encroachment by men of zeal, well-meaning but without understanding."
---Fmr Supreme Court Justice Louis D. Brandeis (1856-1941) 1928 Olmstead vs US

“A society that will trade a little liberty for a little order will lose both, and deserve neither.”
—Thomas Jefferson

[slane]

I'm surprised and disappointed by Mr. Egan's attendance at the Ardfheis, although if he attended out of naivete as I hope, he surely has had his eyes opened by the anti-American agenda of the whole thing. Perhaps he was misled by the venue. I confess it was a surprise to me as well! It seems a bit out of character to for SF, with its socialist/communist/prole rhetoric to hold their shindig in Ballsbridge of all places, especially at the RDS - there's that 'Royal' thing after all. Maybe that's what threw Mr. Egan off.

Did you read Conor Cruise O'Brien's editorial in the Irish News on Saturday about the IRA's attitude towards the US?

"The climax of anti-Americanism in the Sinn Fein organ An Phoblacht/Republican News now came, weirdly, a couple of days after the bombings in New York and Washington.

An Phoblacht's editorial suggested that the bombings were a justifiable response to American imperialism in the Middle East. That was going too far even for Sinn Fein's masters, the IRA.

An Phoblacht, in the following week, published an article about the international situation which did not contain a word of criticism of the US.

The organ-grinder had brought his monkey under control."

[slane]

Here's an interesting bit of trivia - Wright was nicknamed 'King Rat' by O'Hagan. He told the journalist that 'what happens to me or my family will happen to you and yours tenfold'. It looks like Wright's mates decided to finally make good on his promise. I'm surprised that more journalists haven't been killed in NI over the years - to my knowledge O'Hagan was the first.

[constitutiongirl]

Shockingly enough, Tony, I've developed a friendship with a British soldier who has served in NI for quite a while. It's really informative to 'get into the head' of someone whom one has been taught is one's enemy. It's given me an entire perspective that I have overlooked or willfully ignored for the majority of my life. I'll never be able to look at things quite the same way again.

BTW, we miss your signature 'Cheers' at the end of your responses.

[Norn Iron]

I know his style but I didn't see the article.

The An Phoblacht diatribe against American imperialism has received a lot of coverage.

[Colosis]

I agree totally with your argument for liberty. Can security be increased without impacting on liberty - seems like were going to get plenty of it from now on.

[col kurz]

The Irish media is anti-American. I was in Cork 9/11, the next day the press and radio dumped all over the U.S., especially President Bush, it was criminal..The people of Ireland support us all the way, they are wonderful.

[col kurz]

The Irish media is anti-American. I was in Cork 9/11, on 9/12 the press and radio dumped all over the U.S., notably President Bush, it was criminal..The people of Ireland support us all the way, they are wonderful.

[Deb]

Yank this ambassador back and replace him! This is as bad as Clinton sending the IRA-loving Jean Kennedy Smith.

[Deb]

Like you say...if you "lived there". Which you obviously don't, so knock off spewing the IRA commie line.

[Deb]

All the BBCs are Labour government run and they hate conservatives, especially GW. You should have seen the love-fest for Clinton during the two years of Monica. It was staggering. James Carville, Mandy "Green Teeth" Grunwald, Paul Begala and Stan Greenberg all spent more time on the Beebs than on CNN.

[Norn Iron]

The plain people of Ireland support the US.

The freedom fighters of Ireland say your country is a greater threat to the poor people of the world than Britain.

The Government of Ireland will say whatever brings in the money but please don't ask us to fight - we're neutral.

And the press says much the same as the government.

The bad news is that Ambassador Ryan of Ireland is the current president of the UN Security Council

The good news is that Gerry Adams has gone to see Nelson Mandela instead of Fidel Castro to celebrate the battle against imperialism - British and American.