The National Irish Freedom
Committee (NIFC) will endeavor to engage political leaders, the
media and the American public in bringing pressure to bear on
the U.S. government to reverse its selective visa denial policy
directed at Eire Nua
proponents, who wish to promote the Eire Nua (New
Ireland) peace plan here in the United States.
Eire Nua (New Ireland) is a
comprehensive Irish authored political program designed to
achieve a just and lasting peace in Ireland in the context of a
British withdrawal. Initially proposed by Sinn Fein in 1972,
Eire Nua sets forth specific proposals to start the process of
Irish reunification and reconciliation. It also includes
proposals for a new all-Ireland constitution. The principle on
which Eire Nua is based envisions a system of government in
which all creeds and traditions would be represented and all
citizens could exercise real power, without any one group
infringing on the right of others.
Since 1974, the U.S. government
has denied visas to Eire Nua representatives to enter the United
States to promote the Eire Nua (New Ireland) program. The U.S.
government has acquiesced to pressure by the British and the
Irish 26-county governments by summarily denying entry visas to
Eire Nua spokespersons including Ruairi O' Bradaigh. The British
consider O'Bradaigh and the other targeted individuals to be
effective spokespersons for the Eire Nua program, and if granted
access to the U. S would pose a serious threat to their own
unopposed public relations campaign in the U.S., which seeks to
legitimize British occupation of six of Irelands' thirty-two counties.
Representatives of other
political organizations who support British arrangements have
been granted visas to visit the United States, simply because of
their pro-British stance. These organizations include
Provisional Sinn Fein, the Socialist Democratic Labor Party, the
Democratic Unionist Party and the Official Unionist Party. Also
welcomed were members of pro-British paramilitary groups namely
the Ulster Defense Association and the Ulster Volunteer Force
whose members have been at the forefront of sectarian killings
and violence.
In 1978 the leaders of Irish
organizations in New Jersey petitioned Peter Rodino, the
Chairman of the House Judiciary, to investigate the denial of
visas to members of Sinn Fein. The inquiry, which was led by
Joshua Eilberg (D PA) and Hamilton Fish (R.NY), took place in
Ireland and England in September 1978. Despite the best efforts
of the British, Irish and United States governments to set the
agenda and select the individuals to be interviewed Eilberg and
Fish insisted on including members of Sinn Fein who were denied
visas. After interviewing these individuals and confronting them
with the reasons given by the State Department for denying them
visas, Eilberg and Fish concluded that none of them should have
been denied visas. They further concluded that the Federal
Bureau of Investigation and their British counterparts contrived
all of the charges levied against them. Despite these
conclusions the United States government continues to enforce
this visa denial policy on behest of the British and Irish
governments.
The ensuing ‘Justice Report -
Politics and Visa Denials’ states that all those who applied for
visas should be allowed into the United States and none
excluded.
The NIFC believes that
representatives of Republican Sinn Fein should be allowed access
to the United States to promote the Eire Nua program. This would
allow the American public an opportunity to compare and decide
for themselves which peace plan offers the best chance for a
just and lasting peace in Ireland. The NIFC further believes
that this visa denial policy constitutes contempt for the Irish
American constituency and is unique in the respect that no other
known American group suffers from similar restraints. This
policy also constitutes censorship and denies the public the
right to freedom of information, and also denies them access to
opposing viewpoints on Ireland’s political future. On a
universal level, this policy violates Basket 111 Agreement of
the Helsinki Accords dealing with the free movement of people.
The NIFC believes an injustice
has been perpetrated on the American people, particularly, Irish
Americans. The NIFC will continue to challenge this visa denial
policy and asks those who believe in freedom of expression and
peace with justice in Ireland to join us in this endeavor.
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