Statement by Senator Christopher J. Dodd
Condemning Violence and Criminality in Northern Ireland
March 17, 2005

Mr. President, I rise to today to join my colleagues, Senators Kennedy, McCain and others in condemning ongoing violence and criminality by the Irish Republican Army.

Our actions are prompted in part by our meeting yesterday with the sisters and fiancée of Robert McCartney, a Catholic resident of Belfast who was brutally murdered on January 30, by individuals who are members of the IRA. These six young women, Catherine McCartney, Paula Arnold, Gemma McMacken, Claire McCartney, Donna Mary McCartney, and Bridgeen Karen Hagans, have publicly challenged the code of silence that generally surrounds IRA activities, including the brutal murder of their brother, an innocent bystander.

Mr. President, these brave women came to Washington seeking our help to ensure that this heinous act is not forgotten as time passes and that justice is done, not only on behalf of their brother, but for all the people of Northern Ireland – Protestant and Catholic alike. They have called upon the IRA and Sinn Fein to stop covering up Robert’s murder, and to begin immediately to cooperate directly with the Northern Ireland Policing Service in order to bring to justice those responsible for this heinous crime.

In response to their appeal, Mr. President, we believe that it is important that the United States Senate express itself on their behalf. That is why we have asked the Senate to act on the pending resolution. That is why President Bush met personally with these brave women at the White House earlier today -- to highlight the importance of justice being done.

Our actions on this resolution and the President’s meeting earlier today put the world on notice that we condemn such acts. In addition, with this resolution we call on the leadership of Sinn Fein to insist that everyone responsible for this murder be brought to justice and that anyone with knowledge about the crime cooperate fully and directly with the Police Service of Northern Ireland in making that possible.

Mr. President, as an Irish American, I look forward to the annual celebration of Saint Patrick’s Day. Earlier today we participated in the Annual Speaker’s luncheon with visiting Prime Minister of Ireland, Bertie Ahern to commemorate this day.

I must tell you, Mr. President, that we did so with less exuberance than in past years when there was frankly more to be joyful about.

Ten years ago on this day, there was excitement and promise at our Saint Patrick’s Day celebration – the 1994 IRA ceasefire had been in place for more than six months and there existed a positive climate conducive to finding a political resolution to a quarter century of sectarian violence.

Seven years ago, in 1998, there was even more concrete evidence that sectarian violence was over as we were literally days away from the parties signing the Good Friday Accords which they did on April 9 of that year. That document was crafted by the political parties under the able leadership of former Majority Leader George Mitchell with the active involvement of President Bill Clinton, and Prime Ministers Tony Blair and Bertie Ahern. It spelled out in black and white an agenda and institutions for delivering justice and equality to both traditions within a framework of inclusive self-government.

Our annual Saint Patrick’s Day celebrations since 1998 have been an opportunity to take stock of the progress toward full implementation of the Good Friday Accords. I for one have approached this day each year with the hope that we might finally declare that the Accords were fully functioning, and that violence and terror were no longer a part of the fabric of Northern Ireland’s society.

Sadly, this Saint Patrick’s day we struggle to call the glass half full with respect to progress on the Accords. The Northern Ireland Assembly is in suspension, the assembly’s Executive is vacant. The parties are deadlocked over what must be done to restart the process. Collectively, Northern Ireland’s political leaders must accept responsibility for the political impasse that now exists. But Sinn Fein and the IRA carry a heavier burden than others for restarting the process. Sinn Fein, as an organization, must commit itself fully and unequivocally to solely political means to advance its agenda of equality and inclusion. There is no place in a democracy for a political organization to have its own private paramilitary organization. Sinn Fein cannot call itself a democratic organization if it does not severe all ties with the IRA, an organization which espouses, condones, and covers up unlawful acts such as murder and robbery. And, if the IRA is in fact committed to the full implementation of the Peace Accords as it has publicly stated, then it must fully and verifiably decommission its weapons and go out business entirely.

In my opinion, nothing short of these actions is going to repair the damage done to the peace process by the recent acts of criminality by the IRA. Public demonstrations by the Catholic community in Belfast in support of the McCartney sisters’ quest for justice made it patently obvious that whatever support might have existed for the IRA in that community exists no longer. It is very clear that the people of Northern Ireland want to live in peace – they want an end to vigilantism and intimidation – they want transparency and the rule of law. They want a future for themselves and their children.

Today, Northern Ireland is a struggling democracy – at a crossroad. Elections have occurred. Elected representatives have been chosen. The mechanisms of self-government are clearly spelled out in the Good Friday Accords. Everyone knows what needs to be done to move the process forward. I hope and pray that those with the power to make a difference will have the courage to do the right thing. The people of Northern Ireland deserve and expect nothing less.

Thank you, Mr. President.