Hearing Self-Destructs Attempt to Embarrass Adams Totally Fails

Posted By: March 29, 2013

Washington DC April, 24 2002— The Congressional Hearing on the Colombian Three was a total disaster for the enemies of the Irish peace-process and for those who wanted to embarrass Gerry Adams.

Fr. Sean Mc Manus, President of the Capitol Hill-based Irish National Caucus, who had vigorously opposed the Hearing said : ” I am actually delighted that the Hearing did in fact take place as the mischievous and dangerous agenda of the Hearing was totally and soundly defeated.Gerry Adams was not embarrassed, but vindicated; no evidence was produced that the IRA had sent the three Irishmen to Colombia. It was a devastating defeat for the enemies of the Irish peace-process.”

Congressman Bill Delahunt — the Democrat on the House International Relations Committee(HIRC) who had pushed to have the Hearing — immediately disassociated himself from the investigative Report prepared by Committee staff, branding it unprofessional, speculative and unconvincing. He also denounced the Hearing’s title:”International Global Terrorism: Its Links with Illicit Drugs As Illustrated by the IRA and Other Groups in Colombia”. He said that unfairly gave the impression that the HIRC had already made that conclusion, when in fact it had not.

Asa Hutchinson, head of the Drug Enforcement Agency and one of the witnesses , was asked, ‘Do you have any evidence that the IRA is involved in the international drug trade?’, his answer was ” No”.

” Indeed”, Fr. Mc Manus said, not one witness said that he had evidence that Sinn Fein or the IRA had sent the Colombian Three to Colombia– not even General Fernando Tapias, Chairman , Joint Chiefs of Staff Armed forces of Colombia”.