Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-05-09-Speech-1-071"
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"en.20050509.14.1-071"2
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"Mr President, I, too, want to welcome and salute members of the McCartney family, who continue their crusade for justice outside Ireland and within it.
On 30 January, their brother Robert was murdered by members of the Irish Republican Army in Belfast. This is not the only brutal murder that has, unfortunately, taken place on our island in the last 30 years; but this one has caused many across the world to sit up and recognise the activity that is continuing in Ireland seven years after the historic Good Friday Agreement.
The facts are sobering. A savage murder was ordered outside a pub in Belfast less than four months ago, carried out by psychopaths, witnessed by 70 to 80 people. A clinical clean-up operation – which took some time, I might add – was then ordered by local IRA leaders. Since then, there has been such intimidation within the community that it has resulted in silence: people live in fear of reprisals if they speak out.
In this House, we have representatives from the political party Sinn Féin who, by their own admission, have a special relationship with the IRA and that is why we refer to them. Both the Irish and British Governments describe them as two sides of the same coin. Sinn Féin is not and has not been doing enough to bring justice to this horrid affair. It is also a fact that Sinn Fein’s influence within communities in Northern Ireland can bring about justice in this case. But what we hear are words and more words of support instead of actions on the ground.
Robert McCartney’s sisters continue their quest for justice and we must support them here in this House where we can. We need to end impunity where it exists: outside the European Union, where we have influence; but more importantly, within the European Union and in this case in a community in Northern Ireland. This Parliament can help by raising the issue and also potentially by providing finance, as stated in the motion for a resolution. I support both those ideas. We call on the Council and the Commission to make financial assistance available if a civil case proceeds. We hope that will not be the case and that the Police Service of Northern Ireland will bring a trial successfully to court, with the cooperation of those who have influence within communities in Northern Ireland. The week before last, we in this Parliament adopted a resolution on human rights. Its essence was the need to end the scourge of impunity in parts of the world. We must lead by example and do the same in Belfast."@en1
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