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".
