THE EXTRADITION SELL-OUT .......Should it become law as intended on December 1 next , The Irish Extradition Act will adversely affect the rights of many Irish citizens in the future .
COLM KEENA examines the implications of proposed legislation .
From 'In Dublin' magazine , 1 October 1987 .
Some senior Irish politicians have defended the 'no prima facie evidence required' -aspect of the new Extradition legislation by saying that demanding prima facie evidence would make the legislation impossible !
The U.S. government demands prima facie evidence off us ; Margaret Thatcher has recently refused to allow citizens of her country to be extradited to the USSR under a system where the USSR would not provide prima facie evidence . Irish Professor of Law , Mary McAleese , told this magazine that she did not see how having to present evidence of having a case would be a problem - " Surely if you have sufficient evidence to justify bringing an individual from one jurisdiction to another , you have at least a prima facie case ?" , she said .
Although , once implemented , it will apply to our dealings with all countries of the world , the new legislation is strongly connected with the creation of the Anglo-Irish Agreement/Hillsborough Treaty in 1985 : there was a strong element of quid pro quo in the discussions between the British and Dublin governments : Dublin was going to sign the European Convention on Terrorism and pass a new Extradition Act - Britain was going to 'improve the administration of justice' in the North of Ireland as it affected nationalists and look at some issues of concern in relation to Irish men and women incarcerated in British jails.......
(MORE LATER).
BILLY WRIGHT , LOYALIST VOLUNTEER FORCE . " I have been prepared to die for long many a year . I don't wish to die , but at the end of the day no one will force their opinion down my throat . No one . "
On August 29 , 1996 , shortly before the 'Combined Loyalist Military Command's' death threat against him expired , EMER WOODFUL interviewed LVF leader BILLY WRIGHT in his Portadown home .......
From 'MAGILL' magazine , February 1998 .
Emer Woodful : " You have been given a warning to get out of here within 72 hours . What are you going to do ? "
Billy Wright : " What I'm not gonna do is buy a plane ticket . I'm here , this is my homeland . This is where my family's buried , and where my ancestors lived , and this is where I will live and die . "
Emer Woodful : " You give me the impression that you are just an ordinary loyalist . Many newspapers have described you as a leading , extreme paramilitary . Why would that be ? "
Billy Wright : " Well , I mean , I have had bad press for years and years . You grow to expect it . By and large the media is written by people favourable to nationalists . "
Emer Woodful : " And what of your being labelled 'King Rat' ? "
Billy Wright : " Well , I was labelled that by an ex-IRA prisoner , Martin O' Hagan of the 'Sunday World' newspaper . As far as that name is concerned , well , I've been labelled it , and it's stuck . There is nothing I can do about it . "
(MORE LATER).
LIAM MELLOWS AND THE IRISH CIVIL WAR .......This is the bulk of a public lecture given at University College , Galway , by Sinn Fein Ard Comhairle member and Deputy General Secretary of the 'Local Government and Public Services Union' , Phil Flynn , on December 8th 1982 , the 60th Anniversary of the Free State's execution of Liam Mellows .
First published in 'IRIS' magazine , March 1983 .
The first document from Liam Mellows , dated 26th August 1922 , reads as follows :
" Regarding the last paragraph in above programme - land - it is well to note that the IRA Executive had already taken up the question of the demesnes and ranches and had adopted a scheme for their confiscation and distribution . This scheme was mainly the work of P. J. Ruttledge . See Ernie O' Malley , Thomas O' Deirig and P.J. Ruttledge about this .
In view of the unprincipled attitude of the Labour Party , and because of the landless and homeless Irish Republican soldiers who fought against Britain , it might be well to publish this scheme in whole or part . We should certainly keep Irish Labour for the Republic : it will be possibly the biggest factor on our side - anything that would prevent Irish Labour becoming imperialist and 'respectable' will help the Republic .
As a sidelight on Johnson , O' Brien , O' Shannon and Co. , it will interest you to know that when they called on us in the Four Courts last May , they (particularly Johnson) remarked that no effort had been made by An Dail to put its Democratic Programme into execution ......."
(MORE LATER).
