Reports obtained from:
(1) Irish Republican News, (2) The Guardian, (3) Belfast Telegraph
(4) Daily Ireland
Reiss (United States envoy) represents an administration which for more than four years now (that is, since before September 11 2001) has been conducting "executive renditions" of people who might - or, then again, might not - be involved in illegal activity.
And yet Reiss feels entitled to give Adams a lecture about the need to observe and respect law.
Eamonn McCann, Belfast Telegraph
See: Orde may not like it but 'due process' is fading fast
Tuesday-Friday, 15-18 March, 2005
Sunday, 13 March, 2005
Thursday, 10 March, 2005
Wednesday, 9 March, 2005
Monday-Thursday, 7-10 March, 2005
Tuesday, 8 March, 2005
Thursday-Sunday, 24-27 February, 2005
Saturday, 26 February, 2005
Monday-Wednesday, 21-23 February, 2005
Sunday-Wednesday, 13-16 February, 2005
Tuesday-Friday, 15-18 March, 2005
Analysis: Killing used as political football
By Danny Morrison, www.dannymorrison.com , for Daily Ireland
Despite the best intentions of the McCartney family and their appeals for their brother Robert's murder not to be used as a political football, that is exactly what has happened. They went to extraordinary -- and personally difficult -- lengths to defuse it as a political issue with which to bash republicans by attending the Sinn Fein Ard-Fheis, where the party president, Gerry Adams, identified with their desire for justice and encouraged all republicans to support the family.
He asked witnesses not to feel intimidated and to give evidence through an agency or lawyer if they felt unable to approach the PSNI. The PSNI itself acknowledged there was a serious lack of trust. Adams personally gave a lead by passing to the Police Ombudsman's office the names of seven Sinn Fein members who had been suspended from the party and who had been in Magennis's bar on the night in question.
There is no doubt that Robert McCartney's killing has become a political football and is being exploited by the opponents and critics of republicans to attack Sinn Fein and the IRA. Moreover, this is counterproductive to the family's objective of securing evidence for a conviction. There are growing signs of resentment -- best exemplified by graffiti in the Short Strand accusing Gerry Adams of being an informer and murmurs about the wisdom of two of the McCartney sisters intimating that they might stand for election on the issue.
Women interviewed for a BBC vox pop said they had heard Adams' appeal to witnesses but, had they personally seen anything, they would still not come forward because they didn't trust the PSNI. Others are asking why the eyewitness statement of the man who was with Robert McCartney had not been used by the PSNI to secure arrests or at least led to suspects facing an identity parade.
The original accusation that the paucity of evidence was down to intimidation or a closing of ranks has had to be reviewed in light of IRA and Sinn Fein statements. There is only so much that the IRA and Sinn Fein can do. The IRA has dismissed three of its volunteers, allegedly physically involved in the incident. When it was discovered at the weekend that a former Sinn Fein election candidate, who had also been in Magennis's bar when the fight started, had only recently filed a statement with her solicitor, one of the McCartney sisters -- wrongly, in my opinion -- criticised Sinn Fein in general.
Should the IRA have arrested the suspects at gunpoint and dropped them off at the nearest barracks? And if, in the barracks, the suspects had made no incriminating statements, how could it then be fair to blame the republican movement? When the IRA made public that it had given the family the offer of having the alleged killers of Robert shot, there was widespread condemnation. The statement was a throwback to earlier times, to a culture we want to leave behind us. But the statement did help focus on the opportunism of IRA critics who will not specify what it is the IRA should do that it has not done.
All nationalists want a responsible and accountable police service. During the conflict and because of a policing vacuum, the IRA was pressed to act against local criminals exploiting the situation. However, some of them, when they were eventually arrested by the RUC, became involved in a sinister and rewarding relationship with the force. They enjoyed either immunity from prosecution or were charged with more minor offences, were acquitted or given suspended sentences, in return for becoming small-time informers, reporting on the movements of republican activists.
Often they were allowed to continue with their activities on the basis that drug pushing, burgling and joy-riding were dispiriting for the nationalist community and creating the sentiment for a return to policing at any, or a lower, price than that to which the community was entitled. The RUC also appreciated that crime inside nationalist areas forced the IRA into administering a rough and imperfect form of summary justice that politically alienated the extended families of those punished by the IRA and distracted the IRA from its armed struggle against the British Crown forces.
At the time of the signing of the Belfast agreement, the controversial issue of policing could not be resolved and was referred to a commission. Chris Patten eventually presented his report but it was watered down during the legislative process. The old Special Branch moved into the PSNI uninhibited and without having to swear any allegiance to human rights -- unlike elected representatives, who have to forswear the use of political violence.
More recently, it has been announced that, in two years, the PSNI is to come under the control of MI5. The SDLP, the Catholic hierarchy and The Irish News -- representing between them the old nationalist establishment in the North -- prematurely bought into the original template of the PSNI and have been attempting to justify their position ever since. In the interim, Sinn Fein's overtaking of the SDLP has shown that nationalists endorse the republican analysis.
Not surprisingly, the SDLP has been to the fore in politicising the McCartney family's search for justice and in demonising Sinn Fein generally, just as the DUP has encouraged one of the sisters to stand against Sinn Fein in the local election.
I understand the McCartney family's call for those with evidence to go directly to the PSNI or make a statement to the ombudsman. This case has received such publicity and scrutiny -- although prejudicial speculation could affect the rights of any accused -- that the PSNI and the courts would have to behave in a fair and transparent way.
Throughout the conflict, republicans often had to be pragmatic in cases such as rape, child abuse, insurance claims, traffic accidents etc and co-operate directly or through a solicitor with the authorities and the RUC. So there are precedents for co-operating.
The McCartney family simply want justice for their murdered brother. Others will take advantage of them for their own political ends, just as the British government and unionists did with the Peace People in the 1970s. Everything that the McCartneys do in their campaign for justice must be aimed at securing the truth and securing justice by way of convicting those who took Robert's life. The IRA and Sinn Fein have been willing but are unable to force his cowardly killers to own up.
If the McCartneys believe that standing for election will make his killers confess, then that is fine. If they believe that it will make his killers confess if the family criticise Sinn Fein and the IRA each time they try to help, then that is fine. If they believe that meeting George Bush -- who is responsible for slaughtering thousands of innocent civilians -- will make his killers confess, then that too is fine.
Many, however, who are both sympathetic to the McCartney cause and to the cause of Irish republicanism doubt how such an approach will bring Robert's killers to justice.
Copyright © 2005 Daily Ireland
Tuesday-Friday, 15-18 March, 2005
McCartneys hit the top
By Irish Republican News
A sister of Robert McCartney has said the family's campaign for the killers to hand themselves into the police "can't go any higher" following a meeting with US President George Bush at the White House.
Gemma McCartney, her four sisters and Mr McCartney's partner Bridgeen Hagans had a private meeting with Mr Bush.
"The White House is the political capital of the world. We can't go any higher than we did here today," she said.
"Now I am waiting on the grieving process to really kick in when things die down.
"It really is up to Robert's killers to hand themselves in now. We need them to hand themselves to the police. It doesn't mean our campaign is over though," she said.
Robert McCartney was killed by a group of Belfast men following a drinking session at a Belfast bar January 30th. The fight later moved outside, where Mr McCartney was fatally stabbed. The killers later destroyed evidence which could link them to Mr McCartney's death.
Members of the Provisional IRA are alleged to have been involved, and three members have already been expelled from the organisation. Despite reservations about dealing with the British PSNI police, republicans have co-operated with the investigation, and scores have come forward to give evidence.
The facts of the case are not disputed. Sinn Fein has backed the family's pursuit of justice through the British court system. However, the PSNI have been unusually slow to press charges in the case. Political opponents have used the case to attack Sinn Fein ahead of important elections in the North of Ireland in less than seven weeks time.
Sinn Fein's Gerry Adams has warned that the increasing exploitation of the McCartney case for political ends should not remove the focus away from the family's campaign for justice or genuine peace efforts in Ireland.
Mr Adams was speaking from the US, where the issue of the North of Ireland was dominating headlines.
The West Belfast MP said he supported the McCartney family's campaign and expressed concern that media coverage of the matter was being manipulated by those with a political agenda.
"Let there be no doubt that factions of the media as well as political opponents of Sinn Fein have very opportunistically exploited this man's killing," he said in Washington.
Mr Adams said he had gone as far as he could, even giving names to the police ombudsman personally, to get the killers convicted.
"I couldn't pursue justice for victims of British brutality or those killed working for the British system if I wasn't just as resolute in defending the rights of this family," he said.
But Mr Adams expressed amazement about the way in which the PSNI investigation was being conducted, particularly after a number of key witnesses were turned away.
"I have asked why there has been no identity parade, why, when a key witness came forward on Monday, he was told there was nobody there to interview him, and why another key suspect was told the same thing," he said.
"I can't imagine another situation where, if there was a high profile murder like this one, a chief suspect would come forward and be told to come back another day."
Mr Adams, speaking after meeting US envoy to Mitchell Reiss in Washington, said he was disappointed Senator Ted Kennedy had cancelled a planned meeting. Republicans have accused Mr Kennedy, whose office portrayed the murder as an IRA action, of being poorly advised in the matter.
Standing beside the McCartneys, Senator Kennedy told CNN: "There's no question Sinn Fein and the IRA are involved in a cover-up there. Gerry Adams has to free himself."
Tuesday-Friday, 15-18 March, 2005
PSNI 'building case' in McCartney killing
By Irish Republican News
PSNI chief Hugh Orde has defended his force's handling of the Robert McCartney case and its failure to take witness statements.
It was revealed earlier this week the PSNI turned away a lawyer acting for a key suspect in the murder who wished to present himself for interview.
Sinn Fein's chief negotiator Martin McGuinness angrily attacked the PSNI over its handling of the investigation.
"I think it is absolutely incredible," Mr McGuinness said.
"I think it is unprecedented and I think, never in the history of the troubles over the course of the last 30 years, would you ever have had someone who was regarded as a chief suspect in a murder investigation, effectively turned away and told to come back in a few days time... absolutely unprecedented.
"I publicly challenge Hugh Orde to explain the handling of this investigation and why charges have not been brought.
"Quite clearly I am alleging, for everyone to listen to, that the PSNI are managing the investigation into Robert McCartney's murder in order to try and do as much damage to Sinn Fein as possible," he said.
But Orde hit back, insisting that this men are building a case.
"We know. We are the professionals. Not Sinn Fein. Not Provisional IRA. We know how to investigate crime and we are doing it very well."
There was also controversy over comments by Mr McGuinness to the McCartney family regarding their reported plans to challenge Sinn Fein in the May elections on an anti-IRA, pro-PSNI platform.
Earlier this week, Mr McGuinness urged the McCartneys that move into the world of party political politics could "do a huge disservice to their campaign". He said it could Wdismay and disillusion an awful lot of people, tens of thousands of people who support them in their just demands."
The comments were reported as a "threat" and a "warning" to the McCartney family in the pro-British media.
"I didn't issue any warning," he said, adding that he was "angry and disturbed" at the way his remarks were taken up.
"Effectively what I was doing was explaining a debate that I think is going on within nationalist and republican circles in the North of Ireland, and I was advising the family, in their own interests, that they should not allow themselves to be in any way politically manipulated.
"I absolutely accept that the McCartney family are very dedicated towards having those people who murdered their brother brought before a court.
"I am fully in support of them and I believe that that is their sole motivation.
"I also believe that there are people around the McCartneys who are malicious in their intent.
"I think the McCartneys need to be careful with people like that around them," Mr McGuinness said.
Sirens sound on latest IRA move
Some commentators last night criticised the latest IRA statement on the Robert McCartney murder, expressing outrage that the organisation was prepared to shoot its members involved in the incident.
In fact, that information has been common knowledge for some time and has been repeated time out of number in the media.
Abhorrent as that is, the IRA traditionally dealt with its members who are guilty of grievous breaches of its own rules and regulations in that way.
However, it is to the credit of the McCartney family that they rejected the suggestion that the culprits be shot, preferring instead to see them in court.
Yesterday's statement is another attempt by the IRA to stretch itself even further in the attempts to win truth and justice for the McCartney family.
Anyone who thinks that republicans haven't gone the extra mile to get the wrongdoers in court doesn't understand the Rubicon which has been crossed by Gerry Adams in handing names over to his solicitor to be passed to the Police Ombudsman.
They must also be blind to the graffiti which has appeared in the Short Strand, effectively accusing the Sinn Féin leader of colluding with the PSNI. That's not to say that republicans can't do more to, in the words of Eamon McCann, "sort it out".
In fact, republicans are unlikely to rule out any option to win justice for the McCartney family because they more than any group, with the exception of the family itself, need a conclusion to this case.
One would expect nothing else in a horrific incident which not only involved IRA members but brought shame to the republican cause.
Yesterday's statement brings more clarity to the events of the horrific night of January 30. It effectively absolves Gerard Davison of involvement in the final bloody attack on Robert McCartney and his friends" vindicating his decision to be the first republican to give a public account of his actions that night.
His lead should now be followed by other republicans who were in the bar but not involved in the murder.
The statement unequivocally puts two IRA members in the frame and states that their names have been given to the family.
Both these men, who have done more damage to the credibility of the republican movement than all the dirty-tricks operatives of British Intelligence, have flown the coop. However, this statement makes clear that they must not be allowed any hiding place.
That view is echoed by republican-minded people across Ireland. They must account for themselves in a court of law, nothing else will suffice.
Copyright © 2005 Daily Ireland
Outrage at IRA offer is absurd
The pity about the brouhaha over the latest IRA statement, and in particular the fixation of many on the IRA's threat to shoot those responsible, is that the vast bulk of the lengthy statement has been lost amid the sound and the fury.
Of course, those complaining longest and loudest about this one sentence in a five-page statement are exactly the same people who believe the IRA's capacity for violence and thuggery is limitless, which, frankly, makes their shock/horror/outrage rather less than convincing.
Those lobbying for the IRA to get involved and to take responsibility for the actions of its 'off-duty' members clearly didn't think the thing through to its logical conclusion.
The IRA has no jails to put people in, by its very nature it is utterly estranged from the law and order apparatus of the state. When it decided to act, as it had been urged to, its options were limited by its very singular view of itself.
Those who profess surprise that one of the options open to the IRA was summary justice through the barrel of a gun are either liars, fools, or they haven't been paying attention for 30-odd years.
If and when someone ends up in the dock charged with murder, those same people will fret little about whether the accused came forward after a face-to-face across a kitchen table in Belfast or two days hanging upside down in a cattleshed in Co Louth. For those of us more interested in obtaining justice for the McCartney family than in scoring political points, the fact that the IRA has moved so far and so comprehensively in its own terms to deal with those behind the murder of Robert McCartney is of considerably more interest than the brutal and clumsy language of a secret army.
Copyright © 2005 Daily Ireland
Orde may not like it but 'due process' is fading fast
By Eamonn McCann, Belfast Telegraph
What a fuddy-duddy Hugh Orde is. The Chief Constable was on radio yesterday explaining that it's not enough for the police to know who carried out a crime, even a particularly horrendous crime: the PSNI can't move without evidence to put before a court. "Due process" must be observed.
As he spoke, New Labour whips were fanning out across Westminster strong-arming MPs to support a Bill which dispenses with the entire notion of due process.
Under the new Terror Bill, if a Government Minister says you did it, you did it. Not that you will have any right to know what it is that you allegedly did.
A more solid Westminster consensus has assembled behind this proposition that has been apparent from some media reports.
The debate in the Lords on Tuesday which forced Home Secretary Charles Clarke to back off from some clauses didn't centre on any issue of principle.
What Tories, Lib-Dems and a handful of Labour peers demanded was that the measure should be subject to periodic review and judges required at some point to - as Gareth Peirce put it - "give (the) procedure a spurious cover."
No amendment was proposed, much less passed, to bring the Bill into line with what Orde says are the minimum due process requirements of the PSNI.
Any day now, New Labour will denounce the PSNI as a bleeding-heart liberal outfit and a danger to national security.
Then there was US envoy Mitchell Reiss popping up immediately after Orde's radio stint to express his disappointment with the performance of Gerry Adams at the Sinn Fein ard fheis.
Adams had told delegates that no republican should be involved in criminality but added that he wouldn't have republicans criminalised for actions which might be against the law but which had been undertaken in pursuit of legitimate political objectives.
This formula provides potential justification for any act of any kind: everything depends on which objectives are deemed legitimate.
But this wasn't the basis of Reiss' objection to Adams' speech. Instead, he wanted Sinn Fein to respect the law, full stop. Otherwise, he implied, the US administration would have the party consigned to the outer darkness forever.
Reiss represents an administration which for more than four years now (that is, since before September 11 2001) has been conducting "executive renditions" of people who might - or, then again, might not - be involved in illegal activity.
Rendition involves seizing people in countries around the world and secretly and by force transporting them across national frontiers.
No charge, no trial, no extradition, no legal proceedings of any sort whatsoever.
Outlets as non-revolutionary as Newsnight, Vanity Fair and the New York Times have reported that some of those subjected to "rendering" have been tortured: indeed, that the purpose of the exercise was precisely to deliver those seized to countries where torture is commonplace and due process unknown.
And yet Reiss feels entitled to give Adams a lecture about the need to observe and respect law.
And hardly anybody feels it appropriate to draw attention to the contradiction.
Law? Ask Tony Blair if the invasion of Iraq was within the law. Or rather, don't. No point.
We now know, largely through the efforts of The Guardian's indefatigable security correspondent, Richard Norton Taylor, that the final advice to the Cabinet from Attorney General Lord Goldsmith was that an invasion of Iraq might well be illegal.
But Blair chose to conceal this from MPs as he urged them, successfully, to vote for invasion anyway.
The defence offered by Blair for this omission has to do with lines drawn in the blood-soaked sand and the observation that since everything was done in pursuit of a legitimate political objective, the toppling of the Saddam dictatorship, the concept of criminality doesn't arise.
There has been a great deal of hypocrisy on display in recent days and by no means all of it can be put down to Sinn Fein and the IRA.
Copyright © 2005 Belfast Telegraph
Decoding the communique
The IRA's offer to shoot the Robert McCartney murder suspects was meant to convey reassurance or menace depending upon the audience, writes
Henry McDonald, The Guardian
By its very nature, an illegal underground movement such as the Irish Republican Army speaks its own private language and sends coded and enigmatic messages to the outside world. So, for those unaccustomed to the enclosed culture of the IRA, the organisation's offer to shoot those of its members apparently responsible for murdering the Belfast Catholic Robert McCartney must have appeared bewildering and illogical. However, behind yesterday's cack-handed PR gesture is a double-sided communique, in part assuring its base, in part intending to menace. To the former, the IRA is saying: "We are still the ultimate arbiters of 'justice' in nationalist communities." Moreover, the Provisionals' willingness to "deal" with errant "volunteers" will be popular among the IRA rank and file disgusted that some of their comrades have, in Gerry Adams's own words, "sullied" the republican cause. It also reminds the republican electorate in the north of Ireland that the IRA is prepared to put its house in order, even if that means shooting men who have served the organisation for almost a quarter of a century. The brutal fact is that, had the IRA shot the suspects, it would have been welcomed by thousands of republican supporters across Northern Ireland.
There has even been a suggestion that the IRA leadership released yesterday's statement as a pre-emptive move to stop top cadres in the organisation from taking such action. The reference in the statement to the murdered man's relatives' opposition to summary "justice" is seen by some inside republicanism as evidence of such an intention. (This almost happened once before, after the Omagh bomb massacre of August 1998, when a veteran IRA leader argued that the Provisionals should have shot Michael McKevitt and the other founders of the group responsible for the atrocity - the Real IRA.)
The menacing aspect of yesterday's seemingly bizarre message is aimed at the British and Irish governments. Decoded, it warns there is still an IRA out there prepared to use violence or the threat of violence to meet its ends. Paradoxically, the raging crisis sparked by the butchering of Robert McCartney outside a Belfast pub has presented the IRA with an opportunity to underline the fact that it remains willing to resort to armed action if needs be.
Those commentators forever searching for silver linings in the dark clouds hanging over Northern Ireland's political landscape are wrong in their assertion that the McCartney controversy provides a chance for the IRA to leave the scene. Their argument is that Sinn Féin is being forced, though the actions of six brave and determined women (the McCartney sisters and the murdered man's partner), to persuade its supporters to accept the Police Service of Northern Ireland's bona fides. They point to the distance Sinn Féin leaders such as Gerry Adams have travelled in a matter of a few weeks, from denying outright that any republican was involved in the murder to calling on witnesses to pass on information to Northern Ireland's police ombudsman and for the people responsible to hand themselves over.
However, the searchers for a silver lining misunderstand the essence of what the IRA said yesterday. Stripping down that statement to its core, the real message is that the IRA is still a key player in the peace process and remains armed and dangerous and unwilling, as yet, to exit the stage.
· Henry McDonald is the Observer's Ireland editor
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2005
Monday-Thursday, 7-10 March, 2005
IRA reports on McCartney investigation
By Irish Republican News
The Provisional IRA has made it absolutely clear that those who killed Robert McCartney in a knife-fight outside a Belfast bar last month must be held to account.
In a lengthy statement on Tuesday, the IRA revealed that two of its members were among the group which got involved in a dispute which ended with Mr McCartney begin fatally wounded outside Magennis's Bar in Belfast city centre.
The IRA has now expelled three members, and Sinn Fein has suspended seven following allegations that a group of republicans had been involved in the stabbing and beating.
So far, ten people have been arrested in connection with the killing.
In its statement, the IRA made clear that its investigation had identified those responsible for Mr McCartney's death, including two IRA Volunteers. It revealed that it made an offer to take physical action against those responsible, in terms of a punishment shooting.
The IRA said this was rejected by the McCartney family in a meeting earlier this month.
The statement also revealed that the IRA gave direct assurances on their safety to three named individuals who the family alleged were the targets of intimidation.
The IRA also ordered those involved in the killing to give a full account of their actions.
Sinn Fein said that the statement was "a positive development and clear evidence of the wider republican desire" to see those responsible brought to justice.
However, even the fact that direct IRA action against the killers had been contemplated was enough to provoke a storm of criticism from the usual sources.
Tony Blair and Bertie Ahern expressed "shock" and described the statement as "extraordinary".
Police chief Hugh Orde also said he had "no doubt" the IRA meant it would kill those responsible for Mr McCartney's death.
Sinn Fein Justice spokesman Gerry Kelly welcomed the IRA move as an effort to help the family -- but said it would be unacceptable for any punishment shooting to have been carried out.
Mr Kelly said the statement "should have removed any concerns witnesses might have still had about coming forward".
In response, the McCartney family insisted that up to 12 IRA members were involved in a clean-up operation following the knife-fight, and that the matter should be brought before a court.
"It is now five weeks since Robert was murdered and no-one has come forward with substantial evidence," the family said. "This must be due to ongoing intimidation and fear.
"Until they do we will continue to campaign for justice for Robert."
Although the police and the McCartneys have accepted the death of their brother was not an IRA action, the matter has been depicted as such in the media.
The family's pursuit of justice has been incorporated into an ongoing campaign to damage the (Provisional) Republican Movement, while their presence at the Sinn Fein annual conference last weekend depicted as a temporary aberration.
The family is to undertake a high-profile tour to the US this month, where the family is planning a visit to the White House and an appearance on 'Larry King Live'.
IRA statement on McCartney killing
By Irish Republican News
The following is the full text of a statement by the Provisional IRA on the death of Belfast man Robert McCartney.
Representatives of Oglaigh na hEireann met with Bridgeen Hagans, the partner of Robert McCartney and with his sisters before our statement of 25 February was issued.
The meeting lasted five and a half hours. During this time the IRA representatives gave the McCartney family a detailed account of our investigation.
Our investigation found that after the initial melee in Magennis's bar, a crowd spilled out onto the street and Robert McCartney, Brendan Devine and two other men were pursued into Market Street.
Four men were involved in the attacks in Market Street on the evening of 30 January. A fifth person was at the scene. He took no part in the attacks and was responsible for moving to safety one of the two people accompanying Robert McCartney and Brendan Devine.
One man was responsible for providing the knife that was used in the stabbing of Robert McCartney and Brendan Devine in Market Street. He got the knife from the kitchen of Magennis's Bar. Another man stabbed Robert McCartney and Brendan Devine.
A third man kicked and beat Robert McCartney after he had been stabbed in Market Street. A fourth man hit a friend of Robert McCartney and Brendan Devine across the face with a steel bar in Market Street.
The man who provided the knife also retrieved it from the scene and destroyed it. The same man also took the CCTV tape from the bar, after threatening a member of staff and later destroyed it. He also burned clothes after the attack.
Reports in the media have alleged that up to 12 IRA Volunteers were involved in the events in Market Street. Our investigation found that this is not so. Of the four people directly involved in the attacks in Market Street, two were IRA Volunteers. The other two were not. The IRA knows the identity of all these men.
The build-up to the attack and stabbings was also outlined to the family and subsequently set out publicly in the IRA's statement of 25 February. The IRA representatives detailed the outcome of the internal disciplinary proceedings thus far and stated in clear terms that the IRA was prepared to shoot the people directly involved in the killing of Robert McCartney.
The McCartney family raised their concerns with the IRA representatives. These included: Firstly, the family made it clear that they did not want physical action taken against those involved. They stated that they wanted those individuals to give a full account of their actions in court.
Secondly, they raised concerns about the intimidation of witnesses. The IRA's position on this was set out in unambiguous and categoric terms on February 15 and February 25. Before and after this meeting with the family, the IRA gave direct assurances on their safety to three named individuals who the family believe were the targets of intimidation.
Since we met the family, at that time, the good offices of an independent third party have been employed to reinforce these assurances with two of the three men. To this point the third party has not been able to contact the other man. We have urged any witnesses who can assist in any way to come forward. That remains our position. The only interest the IRA has in this case is to see truth and justice achieved.
Since we issued our statement on February 25 there has been much political and media comment on what we had to say. Predictably our opponents and enemies who have their own agendas have used this brutal killing to attack republicans and to advance their own narrow political interests. The public will make their own judgment on this.
We sought and held a second meeting with the McCartney family in the presence of an independent observer. In the course of this we reiterated our position in respect of witnesses, including our view that all witnesses should come forward. We also revisited details of the incident.
We disclosed the following to the family: The conclusions of the IRA's investigations are based on voluntary admissions by those involved. The names of those involved in the attacks and stabbings of Robert McCartney, Brendan Devine and the assault on another man in Market Street were given to the family. This included the names of the two men responsible for providing the knife, using the knife, destroying the knife, destroying the CCTV tape and burning clothes.
In addition we informed the family that: We have ordered anyone who was present on the night to go forward and to give a full and honest account of their actions. That includes those who have already been subject to the IRA's internal disciplinary proceedings.
We are continuing to press all of those involved in the events around the killings of Robert McCartney to come forward. The IRA is setting out all of the above at length because it is important that those issues of truth and justice are successfully resolved. We are doing our best to work with the family and to respect their wishes."
P. O'Neill
Thursday-Sunday, 24-27 February, 2005
IRA statement welcomed
By Irish Republican News
The McCartney family have welcomed a statement by the Provisional IRA revealing the expulsion of three of its members and urging them to take responsibility for their actions in the death of Belfast man Robert McCartney
Mr McCartney, from the republican Short Strand are of east Belfast, died after being stabbed in a drunken brawl outside a city centre bar in which IRA members were alleged to be involved.
One man has now been arrested in connection with the incident, and others are expected to follow.
The McCartneys welcomed the IRA statement, which they said had removed obstacles to witnesses who were afraid to come forward with vital information and evidence. However, they stressed they wanted more people to co-operate with the investigation by the PSNI police, despite the force's deep unpopularity with the people of the Short Strand enclave.
In their statement, the IRA said its volunteers "fully understand that they are bound by rules and regulations and a code of conduct.
"There will be no tolerance of anyone who steps outside of these rules, regulations or code.
"Anyone who brings the IRA into disrepute will be held accountable."
Hundreds attended a rally in the Short Strand enclave today to demand justice in the case.
Paula McCartney told the crowd: "Without the support of this community and others, we believe that our cry for justice would have gone unheeded like so many others.
"We hope and pray over the coming days and weeks those responsible for Robert's murder and in the cover and clean-up operation will do the patriotic and right thing and hand themselves over and tell all they know truthfully."
The rally was attended and supported by Sinn Fein leaders in the city.
The close-knit Short Strand community has been riven by the incident, with old divisions between different factions of republicanism emerging as criticism mounted of the Provisional IRA and allegations it was aiding a cover-up.
The family's support for police investigators and demands for a conviction in the courts posed further problems for republicans, scores of whom are thought to have witnessed the fight.
Sinn Fein President, Gerry Adams, confirmed that he had a face-to-face meeting with the sisters of Robert McCartney on Thursday.
Speaking in Dublin on Friday, Mr Adams said that Mr McCartney's partner, Bridgeen, and his father were also at the meeting, which he described as positive.
He also welcomed the IRA statement, and revealed that, if he had been in the bar at the time, he would be making himself amenable to the courts at the request of the dead man's family.
The IRA statement was "very positive development", he said. It was the duty of everyone to try and help the McCartney family in their desire for justice.
"As a republican I would make myself available to the courts as the McCartney family have asked," he said.
"I say that mindful of all the difficulties that we have had trying to straighten out and get a proper judicial system and so on, but I think that this is such a serious situation," he said.
Some 70 people are thought to have come forward following appeals to do so, including over twenty in the last ten days.
IRA statement on expulsions
By Irish Republican News
The following is a statement from the Provisional IRA regarding the death of Robert McCartney in Belfast on January 30th.
Following our investigation the IRA leadership, along with the leadership of the Belfast Command, initiated disciplinary proceedings through Court Martial. This was in accordance with IRA Standing Orders. These proceedings were directed only against IRA volunteers.
The outcome of the Courts Martial include the dismissal of three volunteers, two of whom were high ranking Volunteers.
One of these Volunteers had already gone to a solicitor immediately after the incident to make a statement of his actions on that night.
The other two were advised in the strongest terms possible to come forward and to take responsibility for their actions, as the McCartney family have asked.
In our statement of February 15th, we made it absolutely clear that no one should hinder or impede the McCartney family in their search for truth and justice and that anyone who could help them in that search should do so.
A dispute broke out between a senior republican and a group of people that included Robert McCartney and Brendan Devine.
After an initial heated verbal exchange between the senior republican and Robert McCartney. At that point another man and the senior republican were involved in a further heated exchange. Blows were exchanged and a major melee erupted in the bar.
Neither that man nor the senior republican had weapons of any description in their possession though both were struck with bottles thrown by others. Robert McCartney played no part in the melee.
Both Brendan Devine and the senior republican received serious stab wounds inside the bar.
A crowd spilled out onto the street. Verbal abuse and threats were being shouted by many of those present.
Some of those at the scene, including some republicans, tried to calm the situation.
The senior republican's wounds were tended by people at the scene and he was quickly taken to hospital.
In the meantime Brendan Devine, Robert McCartney and another man ended up in Market Street. It is the view of our investigation that these men were leaving the scene.
They were followed into Market Street where Robert McCartney and Brendan Devine were attacked and stabbed.
Both men were stabbed by the same man. Robert McCartney died a short time later in hospital.
No materials under the control of or belonging to the IRA were produced or used at any time during this savage attack.
A member of the bar staff was threatened by an individual who then took the CCTV tape away and destroyed it.
Those at the scene are responsible for the clean-up or destruction of evidence at the scene.
There should be no misunderstanding of our position in that regard. Any intimidation or threats in the name of the IRA or otherwise to any person who wishes to help the McCartney family will not be tolerated.
The internal disciplinary steps taken by the IRA are a matter for the IRA. They are not intended to be, nor should they be, seen as a substitute for the requests of the McCartney family.
IRA volunteers fully understand that they are bound by rules and regulations and a Code of Conduct. There will be no tolerance of anyone who steps outside of these rules, regulations or code. Anyone who brings the IRA into disrepute will be held accountable.
Monday-Wednesday, 21-23 February, 2005
McCartney family impatient for statements, prosecutions
By Irish Republican News
Sinn Fein's Gerry Adams has repeated calls for witnesses with information on the killing of Robert McCartney to go to the PSNI police or any other respected authority.
He said: "I want anybody who can help the McCartney family to help them. Sinn Fein is totally opposed to what happened to the McCartney family."
Robert McCartney, from the nationalist Short Strand in east Belfast, was stabbed to death in a bar-room brawl earlier this month.
Mr McCartney's family believes individual members of the Provisional IRA were involved in the murder and in subsequent attempts to frustrate the PSNI inquiry through the intimidation of witnesses.
The case has become highly politicised amid a wave of anti-republican propoganda. Labour party leader Pat Rabbitte said today that Sinn Fein should "instruct its members to turn in the killers".
Efforts by republicans to secure justice in the case have been ignored or condemned as insincere.
Last week the McCartney family welcomed an IRA statement which said that no obstacle should be placed in the way of attempts to achieve justice in the case -- but have since questioned the IRA's intentions.
The family alleges that some witnesses are still too fearful to make a statement. There is traditional hostility in the republican stronghold to the British Crown forces. It is not known how many have come forward so far.
The family members met with the Irish Prime Minister, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern for about 30 minutes at the Dublin parliament this morning.
After the meeting, Mr Ahern urged anyone with any information on Mr McCartney's murder to contact the police.
"The patriotic thing is to come forward to the authorities, who are the PSNI," he said.
"I would appeal to anyone who has information to come forward to the PSNI and give that evidence in such a way that the perpetrators of this murder would be apprehended."
Mr McCartney's sister, Paula McCartney, said people were afraid of "repercussions" if they came forward with evidence. She said that a man who they believe was involved has been seen talking to a potential witness.
"They are still walking about the Short Strand and their presence in itself is intimidating," said Claire McCartney.
"If they have been shunned by the IRA, then why are they still walking about the district?"
Sunday-Wednesday, 13-16 February, 2005
IRA backs family of murder victim
By Irish Republican News
The Provisional IRA has said it will not protect any republican alleged to have been involved in the death of a Belfast man earlier this month.
The stabbing of Robert McCartney in a Belfast pub fight on January 30 has generated controversy beyond the strongly republican Short Strand area of east Belfast.
Mr McCartney was stabbed to death and a companion was injured after a fight broke out and appeared to snowball at Magennis's bar.
Relatives of the deceased have claimed that the IRA has sought to prevent PSNI police identifying the killers and have also alleged that one or more members of the IRA were involved.
The PSNI last week said that the IRA was not responsible for Mr McCartney's death. However, their attempts to search homes in the republican enclave were resisted by local residents, prompting allegations of an IRA 'cover-up'.
The McCartney family has called for residents to support the police in the matter and have said they want to see the accused men tried in court. This has exacerbated tensions with those republicans who support the family but oppose the British police and judicial system.
In a statement on Wednesday night, the IRA said: "We wish to extend our sympathy to the McCartney family for the loss of Robert and for the grief that they are suffering.
"The IRA was not involved in the brutal killing of Robert McCartney.
"Those who were involved must take responsibility for their own actions, which run contrary to republican ideals.
"It has been reported that people are being intimidated or prevented from assisting the McCartney family in their search for truth and justice.
"We wish to make it absolutely clear that no one should hinder or impede the McCartney family in their search for truth and justice. Anyone who can help the family in this should do so."
Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams said that no one involved in the killing acted as a republican or on behalf of republicans.
"I repudiate this brutal killing in the strongest terms possible. No one has any right, as has been claimed, to prevent anyone from helping the McCartney family. "
The dead man's sister Paula said people were reluctant to come forward with information.
"It's a taboo subject, no one is allowed to speak about it," she said.
Mr McCartney's fiancee and mother of his two children, Bridgeen Hagans, says she was shocked.
"It's unbelievable," she said. "I thought once someone kills someone the police got them and that was it, especially when they know who they are."
Sinn Fein policing and justice spokesperson Gerry Kelly said that attempts had been made to turn the incident into "a political football about Sinn Fein's position on policing. This will not assist the McCartney family. The family know our position on policing.
"Our position is clear - People with reservations about assisting the PSNI should give any information they might have either to the family, a solicitor or any other authoritative or reputable person or body."