Sunday 11th March
Cross Community Delegation of Collusion Victims for Washington DC
A cross community delegation of Catholic and Protestant victims affected by British Government policy of collusion travelled for the United States this week for a series of engagements with leading US political figures, press and editorial briefings, including other meetings with political aides and advisors on policy within the US with regard to US assistance and influence in the Irish peace process. The delegation will include Pauline Davey Kennedy (daughter of Cllr John Davey), Raymond McCord snr (father of Raymond McCord jnr), Paul McIlwaine (father of David McIlwaine), Clara Reilly (sister of Jim Burns), Teresa Slane (widow of Gerard Slane) and Mark Thompson (brother of Peter Thompson). The visit is being organised by Relatives for Justice.
The delegation will be visiting the US, lobbying on the need for the truth about collusion as part the central element of transitional justice and peace building. Whilst the delegation includes 6 family members, all affected by collusion and State violence, they will additionally be bringing several hundred petitions signed by bereaved families seeking Congressional intervention in the form of a Congressional fact-finding visit examining all the issues for all victims of the conflict irrelevant of their religion or politics. This petition will be personally presented to Democratic Speaker of the House Mrs. Nancy Pelosi.
Part of the itinerary also includes plans to meet with Presidential candidates Senator Hilary Clinton, Senator John McCain, and Senator Barack Obama. The delegation has also been invited to the US State Dept. to up-date officials, the Northern Ireland Bureau breakfast function, and the Congressional Friends of Ireland at Congress. The delegation will also attend the St. Patrick's eve functions at the Irish Embassy in Washington DC. It is expected, but not yet confirmed, that the delegation will also attend the White House St. Patrick's function on March 16th. The delegation will also travel to New York for engagements.
In advance of departing for the US this morning Clara Reilly, the Chairperson of Relatives for Justice, and part of the delegation said; 'It is important that US politicians and key policy makers, including Irish America, hear at first hand the experiences of these families and of the nature and extent of the official governmental policy of British State violence and collusion in Ireland. No longer can this experience of collusion be denied and excluded from the mainstream of annual activities that occur St. Patrick's week in Washington DC. These families, from across the religious and political divide, are determined to ensure that their voice and experiences are heard this week.
'The practice of collusion has impacted across the community irrelevant of religion or politics. This was witnessed in the recent Ombudsman's report into the UVF murder of Raymond McCord Jnr. In recent times even the families of ordinary British soldiers and policemen, killed during the conflict, have come forward to our organisation citing evidence that agents were involved the killings of their loved and yet RUC Special Branch and British Military Intelligence protected these agents from prosecution.
'In this past week it has again been indicated that the Ombudsman is to further investigate allegations of collusion with republican agents working for the British State, and that an agent involved in an attack on a former Judge, Tom Travers, in which he survived and his daughter was killed, was protected by RUC Special Branch. The reality is that everyone and everything was expendable to this awful policy. Collusion must be fully exposed and the truth brought to light for all the families irrelevant of who they are. Outing this truth will also have broader benefits in terms of transition and building a lasting and equitable peace based upon the principles of human rights and justice. Our petition outlines this very aim.
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