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Disappeared: crescono le pressioni su Gerry Adams

Pressure mounts on Gerry Adams over Disappeared

Gerry Adams, Sinn Fein

Political fallout from a powerful television documentary on the families of the Disappeared has continued, raising fresh criticism of Gerry Adams in the Dail.

Members of the opposition joined Taoiseach Enda Kenny in calling for full disclosure from the IRA to help locate the bodies of their victims which have not yet been recovered.

The remains of some of the 17 people known to have been abducted and murdered were recovered following the introduction of new legislation in 1999, granting immunity from prosecution for anyone providing information.

However, at least seven families are still waiting to give a proper burial to their missing loved ones.

The television programme, a joint production by the BBC and RTE which aired on Monday night, highlighted the plight of relatives who have suffered decades of emotional torture.

Mr Adams, the Sinn Fein president and Louth TD, has repeatedly denied allegations he was an IRA commander in Belfast, or that he was responsible for any of the abductions that took place while he was a prominent figure in the republican movement.

One of the tragic cases featured was that of mother-of-ten Jean McConville who was abducted from her west Belfast home by the IRA in 1972. Surrounded by a wall of silence, the widow’s remains lay undetected until they were finally discovered by chance at Shelling Hill beach in Co Louth over 30 years later.

The Taoiseach said he accepted the Sinn Fein leader was genuine in his desire to see more information coming to light, but reminded the Dail of Dolours Price’s interview with the Boston College project – in which she claimed involvement in the abduction of Mrs McConville while under the command of Mr Adams.

He said: “The fact that somebody ordered that Jean McConville be murdered, that someone instructed that people take her away, that someone instructed Dolours Price to drive the vehicle used across the border and that someone gave the instruction in respect of what took place.”

Fianna Fail TD Brendan Smith said Gerry Adams still had questions to answer and could do more to help the long-suffering families.

“The weight of history is a heavy burden in this country.

“Shallow graves in desolate bogs, on lonely beaches and down distant country lanes are a testament to that burden,” he said.

“Contrary to what Deputy Adams and others would like now to claim, everyone in the north does not share responsibility for what happened there,” Mr Smith added.

Labour TD Gerald Nash said Mr Adams was “the one man with the position and influence over those responsible for and with knowledge of the circumstances of these killings”.

Mr Adams has described the Disappeared as “one of the great tragedies of the conflict” and appealed for anyone with information on burial sites to contact the authorities.

Under pressure at home, Gerry Adams yesterday flew to the US for meetings with the American government.

Mr Adams will address a Friends of Sinn Fein dinner prompting DUP MEP Diane Dodds to say: “Rather than Gerry Adams delivering a message to the Friends of SF event, they should deliver a message to him that it’s time to tell the truth.”

She added: “The families of the disappeared are still suffering to this day. Perhaps if the BBC documentary was shown at the Friends of Sinn Fein dinner there would be a different reaction from the audience.”

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René Querin

Di professione grafico e web designer, sono appassionato di trekking e innamorato dell'Irlanda e della sua storia. Insieme ad Andrea Varacalli ho creato e gestisco Les Enfants Terribles.

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