SINN FEIN AND THE ATTEMPTED MURDER OF MARTY MCGARTLAND

Early day motion 743, tabled 22 June 1999 by Harry Barnes (Labour). Signed by 10 members.

That this House notes that the IRA has murdered three people this year and continues to carry out so-called punishment beatings whilst thousands of people remain exiled in fear of being beaten or murdered; further notes that the IRA has almost completely failed to live up to its promises to allow the families of the disappeared to locate the remains of their loved ones and has not started to decommission its illegally-held arsenals of lethal weapons; strongly condemns the IRA's attempted murder on 17th June in Tyneside of Martin McGartland, the former RUC agent who infiltrated the IRA, saved up to 50 people's lives and who had previously narrowly escaped murder by the IRA; believes that the IRA is actively targeting Sean O'Callaghan, a former Irish police agent within the IRA, as well as prominent politicians; recognises that Sinn Fein and the IRA are inextricably linked and share leadership personnel; asks Gerry Adams urgently to condemn this attack on Martin McGartland and to give a personal assurance that he actively disavows any further murder attempts by the IRA; and believes that failure to do this will be taken by most reasonable people as providing substantial evidence of Sinn Fein's bad faith in the peace process.

Signatures by party: Labour 4, Conservative 3, UUP 2, UKUP 1.