Pat Finucane Center Attacks NAIAR 
10/29/04 14:13 EST

By Irish American Information Service

An Irish American interest group in Washington DC, the National Assembly of Irish American Republicans (NAIAR), has again come under fire for allegedly putting the reelection of George W. Bush ahead of its stated goals of encouraging the peace process in Ireland and educating United States policy makers on issues of importance and concern to Irish America.

A spokesperson for the Northern Ireland-based Pat Finucane Centre (PFC) said today that the NAIAR "has not seen fit to even reply or acknowledge" PFC's requests to lobby the Bush Administration on the awarding of a $293 million private security contract in Iraq to a company run by a former British Army officer, Lt Col Tim Spicer.

In 1992, soldiers under the command of Lt Col Spicer murdered Belfast teenager Peter Mc Bride. Spicer, their commanding office, subsequently lied about the circumstances of the murder, sought to blame the victim and argued that his soldiers should never have been convicted. 

The soldiers convicted of the murder were subsequently promoted in the British Army. The PFC maintains that Spicer is a "particularly unsuitable" individual to be put in charge of what is essentially a large private army. 

Upon leaving the British Army, Spicer set up a mercenary company, Sandline, which has since became embroiled in mercenary activities in Papua New Guinea and Sierra Leone. 

Close associates of Spicer, including Margaret Thatcher's son Sir Mark Thatcher, have recently been arrested for alleged mercenary activities in Africa.

Many in Irish America, including Fr. Sean McManus of the Capitol Hill-based Irish National Caucus, have raised grave concerns that such a controversial contract should be awarded to an individual who has stated that soldiers under his command who commit murder should not be subject to the rule of law. 

"Given the complete wall of silence that has greeted all attempts to persuade NAIAR to take up this issue we can only surmise that NAIAR either supports this contract or does not regard it as an issue of importance and concern," the PFC spokesperson said today.

It's not the first time that the NAIAR has come under fire for refusing to take positions on issues of concern to Irish America.

The NAIAR has also yet to take a position on the proposed U.S.-U.K. Extradition Treaty. This proposed treaty, according to the lobby group, Irish-Americans Against Extradition, would gut, destroy and eliminate the longstanding, time-honored, and well-grounded "political offense" exception to U.S. extradition law and practice in all but the name.

In his submission on the proposed treaty to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Univ. of Illinois Law professor Francis Boyle argued the treaty was aimed at Irish Americans.

"It is obvious from the text of this proposed Treaty that it is directed primarily against Irish American citizens engaged in the lawful exercise of their constitutional rights under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution in order to protest the longstanding military occupation of six counties in Ireland by the British Crown in violation of the international legal right of the Irish People to self-determination as well as of the United Nations Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Territories, Resolution 1514(XV) of 14 December 1960, which constitutes customary international law and jus cogens," Boyle said in his submission.

In response to prompts from Professor Boyle to state its position on the Treaty, NAIAR board member Brian McCarthy promised in june of this year that his group would announce its position on said treaty before the election then five months away.

"Not to worry," McCarthy responded on June 15. "The Board of The Irish-American Republicans, which is comprised of busy working professionals, will be setting forth its position on the US/UK Treaty and all other issues related to the Northern Ireland Peace Process over the next several months."

"As a professor of law, I'm sure you'll understand that it is incumbent on a board to discuss such matters before taking a position thereon. Our Board is a thoughtful, responsible group, so please do not attempt to impute improper motives, i.e. stalling, to our organization," McCarthy said.

However, as of Oct. 29, there has still been no official position on the proposed treaty from NAIAR.

Another spat occurred in August of this year between the Irish National Caucus (INC) and NAIAR with regard to a dispute Fr. Sean McManus of the INC had with President Bush's advisor on Northern Ireland, Mitchell Reiss.

Fr. McManus referred to comments made by Mr. Reiss regarding Orange Order marches in Northern Ireland. In a State Department briefing, Mr. Reiss criticized the 'triumphalist' nature of the Orange Order marches. When McManus made the remarks public, Mr. Reiss issued a statement maintaining that his remarks were "taken out of contest".

Frank Duggan, another board member of the NAIAR, criticized McManus. "Do you think it makes a positive impression of your actions? Do you think you have helped The Peace Process? Do you think you have helped Mitchell Reiss in his role as a Diplomat?," Duggan asked.

When Reiss said a Sinn Féin advertisement about policing reform in Northern Ireland in the New York Times contained 'massive untruths', the INC and NAIAR clashed again. When McManus criticized Reiss's allegations, the NAIAR labeled McManus a "traditional U.S.-based Bush-hater."

And in a letter to the Irish Voice by the President of Friends of Sinn Fein, Larry Downes accused the NAIAR of giving cover to the Bush Administration.

"In a weak attempt to give some cover to Mitchell Reiss, the Irish American Republicans falsely claimed in last week's Irish Voice that the much discussed Sinn Fein ad in The New York Times 'personally attacked the new Northern Ireland Police Chief Hugh Orde,' and 'labeled him a coddler of killers and 'human rights,'" Downes' letter said.

"The ad did no such thing. The ad stated, 'The chief of police is opposed to inquiries which would expose human rights abusers in his ranks." The fact is that Mr. Orde is opposed to the inquiries, and they would expose human rights abusers in the ranks of Mr. Orde’s police department. Indeed, to my knowledge, Mr. Orde does not dispute either point." said Downes.

Most recently, when asked for comment by the IAIS on a report by Northern Ireland Alert which was critical of President Bush's involvement in the Irish peace process, the NAIAR's response was to intervene with Ancient Order of Hibernians president Ned McGinley to prevent the report's publication on an AOH website.

"This bunch (Northern Ireland Alert) said that the Massachusetts and Connecticut AOH State Boards were putting this "scorecard" crap on their websites. I told Ned McGinley this was inappropriate, and he agreed. He told them not put this on because we don't endorse candidates in the AOH. Hang in there. It will all be over soon!," was NAIAR board member Frank Duggan's reaction.

AOH president Ned McGinley, in response to the Northern Ireland Alert scorecard said, "Anything that is useful for information on Irish issues and not biased is good."

Edmund Lynch, the National Coordinator for Lawyers Alliance for Justice in Ireland said the Northern Ireland Alert report had documented "what many of us in the Irish American human rights field have sensed for some time". 

"The Bush/Cheney Administration has little genuine interest in promoting reconciliation and self determination in Ireland. Rather they look upon the Irish situation as an opportunity to score political points with Americans of Irish descent. The aloof approach taken by the Bush/Cheney team to Irish human rights is similar to their non- involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The need for change at the top of the American Government is made clear in the very valuable scorecard published by Northern Ireland Alert," said Lynch.

Judge Andrew L. Somers, national president of IAUC, said the Northern Ireland Alert was "the most comprehensive and instructive analysis of America's 'Irish Policy', I have seen in years." 

"If you care for peace and justice in Ireland, read this report," Somers said.

In its analysis, the Northern Ireland Alert report said, "Sen. Kerry has been an active follower of and participant in Irish affairs. His actions to date hold great promise that a Kerry Administration would equal President Bush's record on the Irish issue, with the good possibility that he would surpass it in the areas of (1) personal involvement and (2) restoring our relationship with Europe and Ireland to an extent where our President's direct input into the peace process would be on surer footing."

As for President Bush, the report concluded, "[his] personal activity has been well short of proactive on working to restore Northern Ireland's local governance and dealing with immigration, deportation, and extradition issues at home. Those shortcomings, and his inability in Ireland to personally be regarded as an honest broker with a credible resume of respecting international law and human rights principles, dampen our present appraisal of him."

Congratulations Extended to Bush

Statement by the Taoiseach ( Irish Prime Minister), Bertie Ahern, T.D. on the US Election - Nov. 3, 2004; transcript provided by the Consulate General of Ireland, New York, N.Y. 

"I have conveyed my warmest congratulations to President George W. Bush on his re-election as President of the United States and my best wishes to him in addressing the challenges over the next four years. I have also conveyed my best wishes for the future to Senator John Kerry.

The contribution which people of Irish heritage have made to the United States, and the strong tradition of friendship and goodwill between us, is a source of enormous pride to us. Today, as our connections and links continue to expand in a broad range of areas of mutual interest, I look forward to working with the President to ensure that these continue to develop and flourish in the years ahead.

We were honored to host the EU-US summit at Dromoland Castle earlier this year in our role as Presidency of the European Union. On that occasion we agreed on a number of measures for enhancing future co-operation between Europe and the United States. It is both in the interests of the Union and the United States that our relationship is strong and that we work together across the range of issues that face the international community at this time.

The United States has always been a firm and loyal friend of the peace process. This support is a source of great encouragement as we continue to work to ensure that the Agreement is implemented in full, and above all, allowed to achieve its promise of delivering a better future for all the people of Northern Ireland.

I look forward to building even closer relations with the United States both at national level and at the level of the European Union and once again wish the President, his family and his team every success in the term ahead. "