24.6.04
Irelandclick.com
ADAMS PUTS COLLUSION AT THE TOP OF AGENDA
West Belfast MP comes face-to-face with Stevens
The Sinn Féin President, Gerry Adams, last night told the Andersonstown News that his meeting with the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, John Stevens, has refocused attention on the issue of collusion.
Mr Adams met Mr Stevens in London earlier this week.
Mr Stevens has been responsible for conducting three investigations into issues of collusion, and particularly the Pat Finucane assassination, over the past 15 years.
“First of all I received an invitation from a mutual friend who told me that John Stevens was interested in talking to me,” said Mr Adams.
“I sought advice from the Finucane family and we had the meeting in a hotel in London.
“I put it to him that his investigation was being used as an excuse to delay the inquiry that the Finucane family are seeking into Pat’s killing.
“I told him that 15 years is enough time to sort all of this out.
“Interestingly, he said that the Barrett case could come into court in September, but he couldn’t give any assurances regarding other prosecutions.”
Mr Adams said that the prospect of a head of steam building to the autumn forms the context in which Paul Murphy has been travelling to South Africa – purportedly finding out about truth processes.
“I gave John Stevens my view that this is such a big issue that the British government are seeking to find some way of closing it down – that’s why I see Paul Murphy off defending the breach of a promise to the Finucane family of an inquiry.
“There is no reason why a public inquiry of the kind the Finucane family want could not proceed alongside other proceedings.
“But the British government now know there is a head of steam building around this issue and that, by the autumn at least, Paul Murphy is faced with a decision.
“Our view that this went to the top of British establishment and we told John Stevens that this is such a huge issue that he nearly needed to be bringing it to a conclusion in terms of the peace process and, particularly for those families at the bottom of the hierarchy of victims, to start a process of closure.”
During the meeting, Mr Adams said that he raised a variety of examples where direct collusion or active involvement from state forces has led to killings.
These included the assassination of Sinn Féin Vice-President Maura Drumm by loyalists and the killing of schoolboy Patrick Rooney by the RUC.
“We are now able to go into meet the British government on Friday and raise this on an ongoing basis.
“We already raised the issue with 10 Downing Street before meeting John Stevens and pressed them in relation to Pat Finucane and the fact that Judge Cory’s recommendations in relation to the killings of Robert Hamill, Rosemary Nelson and Billy Wright haven’t, according to press reports, been acted upon.
“We gave John Stevens the Sinn Féin perspective that there was, in reality, an administrative policy whereby the state and its agencies co-opted and sometimes organised unionist death-squads to kill citizens.”
Journalist:: Jarlath Kearney
ADAMS PUTS COLLUSION AT THE TOP OF AGENDA
West Belfast MP comes face-to-face with Stevens
The Sinn Féin President, Gerry Adams, last night told the Andersonstown News that his meeting with the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, John Stevens, has refocused attention on the issue of collusion.
Mr Adams met Mr Stevens in London earlier this week.
Mr Stevens has been responsible for conducting three investigations into issues of collusion, and particularly the Pat Finucane assassination, over the past 15 years.
“First of all I received an invitation from a mutual friend who told me that John Stevens was interested in talking to me,” said Mr Adams.
“I sought advice from the Finucane family and we had the meeting in a hotel in London.
“I put it to him that his investigation was being used as an excuse to delay the inquiry that the Finucane family are seeking into Pat’s killing.
“I told him that 15 years is enough time to sort all of this out.
“Interestingly, he said that the Barrett case could come into court in September, but he couldn’t give any assurances regarding other prosecutions.”
Mr Adams said that the prospect of a head of steam building to the autumn forms the context in which Paul Murphy has been travelling to South Africa – purportedly finding out about truth processes.
“I gave John Stevens my view that this is such a big issue that the British government are seeking to find some way of closing it down – that’s why I see Paul Murphy off defending the breach of a promise to the Finucane family of an inquiry.
“There is no reason why a public inquiry of the kind the Finucane family want could not proceed alongside other proceedings.
“But the British government now know there is a head of steam building around this issue and that, by the autumn at least, Paul Murphy is faced with a decision.
“Our view that this went to the top of British establishment and we told John Stevens that this is such a huge issue that he nearly needed to be bringing it to a conclusion in terms of the peace process and, particularly for those families at the bottom of the hierarchy of victims, to start a process of closure.”
During the meeting, Mr Adams said that he raised a variety of examples where direct collusion or active involvement from state forces has led to killings.
These included the assassination of Sinn Féin Vice-President Maura Drumm by loyalists and the killing of schoolboy Patrick Rooney by the RUC.
“We are now able to go into meet the British government on Friday and raise this on an ongoing basis.
“We already raised the issue with 10 Downing Street before meeting John Stevens and pressed them in relation to Pat Finucane and the fact that Judge Cory’s recommendations in relation to the killings of Robert Hamill, Rosemary Nelson and Billy Wright haven’t, according to press reports, been acted upon.
“We gave John Stevens the Sinn Féin perspective that there was, in reality, an administrative policy whereby the state and its agencies co-opted and sometimes organised unionist death-squads to kill citizens.”
Journalist:: Jarlath Kearney
