IN October of 2002 the British government closed down the Northern Ireland Assembly charging three people, including Denis Donaldson, then Sinn Fein’s head of administration at Stormont, with running a spy ring.

On December 9, 2005 the Stormont spy ring case ended at Belfast Crown Court when the government directed that all charges be dropped. Seven days later Donaldson admitted having served as a paid agent for the British security forces for 20 years. The British government has not disputed this claim.

The Assembly, despite its limitations, provided the people of the north of Ireland with their first opportunity for democratic debate and self-government on a genuinely representative basis since the partition of Ireland 85 years ago. It was a remarkable achievement for tolerance and fairness by all parties involved in reaching the Good Friday Agreement.

However, successive British secretaries of state have twice acted unilaterally to shutter the gates of Stormont and shatter the aspirations of people of all political and religious persuasions in the north of Ireland.

Each time they have cited information from the British security services of foul play by Sinn Fein. Once again this information has been exposed as a fabrication.

In this latest debacle the only “spy ring” at Stormont was that orchestrated by the British security services themselves. The implications are serious in the extreme.

British officials promised devolved government. British officials have violated that promise and manipulated the fragile institution of power sharing.

The result is that only eight years after the Good Friday Agreement these institutions have been in operation for only 20 months with direct rule from Britain for the overwhelming majority of the time.

The government bears the responsibility for bringing down the freely and democratically elected Assembly. If this happened in any other part of the world, a British prime minister would be first in line to condemn such police state misconduct.

The people of Ireland and Britain are all stakeholders in the peace process. The U.S., through President Clinton and its special envoy Senator Mitchell, played a vital role in building cross community confidence and securing the Good Friday Agreement.

That confidence has been betrayed and all concerned have the right to demand a thorough and transparent investigation into the conduct of those responsible.

Unless British security services are operating without control and accountability, senior persons in the government must have known throughout that “Stormontgate” was a fraud and that Donaldson was working for the security services.

The tragic irony is that while the devolved Assembly was allowed to run it worked better than anyone had reasonably expected. With cross community confidence now at an all time low, the government bears the responsibility for restoring hope and breathing new life into a moribund peace process.

At the very least the stakeholders in the peace process have a right to an open and transparent inquiry into how and why British intelligence services brought the Assembly down three years ago.

Just as importantly, the British government has to show the resolve necessary by immediately reinstating the political institutions and make the Good Friday Agreement work.

Frank Durkan, Chairman, Americans for a New Irish Agenda
Ned McGinley, President, Ancient Order of Hibernians
James Cullen, Patrick Doherty, Steven McCabe, Brehon Law Society
Joe Jamison, President, Irish American Labor Coalition
Robert Linnon, Irish American Unity Conference
Paul Doris, Chairman, Irish Northern Aid
Sean Cahill, Irish Parades Emergency Committee
Edmund Lynch, Lawyers Alliance
Julie Coleman, Secretary, Unity in Action Committee

Fight Draconian Bill

HAVE you ever driven an immigrant to the hospital or to the mall or to a worksite? Did you drive the children of immigrants home from soccer practice or out for ice cream? Has your church ever provided assistance to parishioners who are immigrants?

Under legislation passed by the House of Representatives before the holidays (H.R. 4437, the Border Protection, Antiterrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act), if the immigrants you assisted are undocumented, you will be considered a criminal “alien smuggler,” whether or not you knew of their immigration status.

Undocumented immigrants, including children, will be considered “aggravated felons” subject to mandatory detention and permanently ineligible for lawful residence. Legal residents who failed to inform the Department of Homeland Security within 10 days of a new address will be criminals subject to arrest. It is as yet unclear what sort of camps or prisons will be built to hold the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants.

Employers who hire undocumented immigrants will be subject to fines of up to $25,000 per immigrant. Current undocumented immigrants would be ineligible for President Bush’s proposed “guest worker” program because they will be considered criminals.

Local police will be deputized to enforce immigration laws. They could demand “papers” of people who look or sound “foreign,” leading to hardship for foreign-born U.S. citizens and legal residents. Undocumented immigrants (and their families) will be deterred from reporting crimes.

This legislation passed with support from both Republicans and Democrats, despite the opposition of such diverse groups as the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the American Bar Association and the AFL-CIO.

Representatives voted for this legislation because they are so terrified of seeming “soft on immigration” that they supported a plan that would undermine due process and criminalize millions of hardworking immigrants and their families and friends.

In January, the Senate will discuss this legislation. Please let your senators know that you reject this unworkable and inhumane legislation.

Your senators need to know that there is broad public support for a comprehensive immigration reform plan that would include paths to legalization for workers, and opportunities for foreign-born citizens and legal residents to reunite with family members.

Speak up now so that undocumented immigrants and their families aren’t forced further into the shadows.

Helen Harnett
Baltimore, Maryland

Hot for ‘Teacher’

A YEAR ago I had the honor and pleasure to hear excerpts from Frank McCourt’s newest book Teacher Man.

As a retired elementary school teacher, I knew it related well to the realities of the teaching profession. Before wrapping this book as a Christmas gift to my son who teaches high school English, I took the opportunity to read it. It is written with warmth, wit, humor and wisdom.

All teachers will love this book due to its realistic view of a day in the life of a teacher. The amusing story of the “Sandwich” is cleverly written and enlivens the imagination.

What else will be learned of this unique classroom where the teacher is aware to student needs in the completely enjoyable presentation? How would any student walk away at the end of the day without a feeling of worth, excitement, challenge and a yearning to return the very next day in anticipation and expectation?

I encourage readers of the Irish Voice to make haste to the local bookstore. You will be glad you did!

Also, watch for interviews on television. They can be quite entertaining and enlightening!

Jane Melville
Alpena, Michigan