US embassy cable - 05DUBLIN942

C O N F I D E N T I A L  DUBLIN 000942 
 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/28/2015 
TAGS: PREL, PTER, PINR, EI, UK 
SUBJECT: IRISH THANK USG FOR PEACE PROCESS SUPPORT AND 
WELCOME IRA STATEMENT 
 
Classified By: AMB James C. Kenny for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) 
 
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SUMMARY 
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1. (C) Dermot Gallagher, DFA Secretary General, asked to meet 
with the ambassador July 28 to discuss the IRA statement. 
Gallagher said that in the view of the GOI, the IRA statement 
of July 28 showed "a clarity that was not in previous 
statements" and is "as good as you can get."  He hoped the 
Irish peace process would send a message to the world that 
intractable conflicts can be solved, especially if 
governments work together.  In the case of Northern Ireland, 
Gallagher said it was the the work of three governments: the 
Irish, the British and the U.S.  He said the USG played a 
crucial role as "honest broker" and thanked us for U.S. 
cooperation on the ground and from Washington.  He asked for 
continued U.S. engagement in order to keep the momentum 
going.  The Irish expect that decommissioning will proceed 
very quickly, perhaps within two weeks. Over the next months, 
he said, decommissioning, British demilitarization, and IMC 
reports about IRA actions will be mutually reinforcing.  Come 
January, if the IMC has issued two successive, positive 
reports on IRA behaviour, the onus will be on unionists.  As 
for ongoing criminal investigations into money laundering and 
the Northern Bank robbery, Gallagher said that the law of the 
land will be upheld without reference to the peace process, 
and he underscored that these investigations are not part of 
the Good Friday Agreement. He also said that the Irish 
government cut no side deals with Sinn Fein in the run up to 
the July 28 IRA statement.  Gallagher also indicated that 
there will be a show of unity between the Taoiseach's Fianna 
Fail party and its governing partner, the Progressive 
Democrats (PD).  Justice Minister Michael McDowell (PD) has 
been the most vociferous member of government in calling the 
"provisionals" to account.  He is expected to compliment the 
Taoiseach and PM Blair and to take issue only with the IRA's 
statement that "the armed struggle was entirely legitimate." 
END SUMMARY 
 
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GOI Reacts Positively to IRA Statement 
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2. (C)  On July 28, Dermot Gallagher, DFA Secretary General, 
conveyed the Irish government's positive view of the IRA 
statement.  He said that there is a clarity in the statement 
that was not in any previous statements and it is "as good a 
statement as you can get."  Gallagher indicated GOI 
confidence that there is "a check against delivery," meaning 
that the IMC will report in October and January whether or 
not the IRA actually delivers what it promises. 
 
........Crime 
 
3. (C) Looking at the precise wording of the statement, the 
GOI views especially positively the sentence, "Volunteers 
must not engage in any other activities whatsoever." This 
sentence refers to crime, he said.  As we all know, he said, 
the IRA cannot put in writing that they will stop engaging in 
crime because in their theology, volunteers can never be 
criminals.  To nail down the two governments' definition of 
the line, he said, PM Blair deliberately said in his press 
conference that he took "any other activities whatsoever" to 
mean crime. 
 
.......Policing 
 
4.  (C)  Gallagher also noted the IRA's reference to the 
"responsibility on society to ensure there is no re-occurence 
of the pogroms of 1969 and the early 1970s."  The GOI 
interprets this as a call on all, including republicans, to 
work to get policing right.  Separately, Rita O'Hare, Sinn 
Fein's North America representative, flagged the same 
sentence and indicated that Sinn Fein believes it is a call 
on republicans as well to accept policing.  Gallagher said 
that policing is an area in which the U.S. could be helpful. 
 
......the messenger is the message 
 
5.  (C) The IRA's message was also in the man who delivered 
it, according to Gallagher.  By choosing a hard army man to 
read the message, the IRA meant to convey to people in the 
field that the army, including the most devoted volunteers, 
and not just "the politicians," is behind the statement. 
According to Gallagher, Seanna Walsh is an active, trusted 
member of the IRA, who served one of the longest sentences 
for his crimes (21 years).  He served his time in both the 
infamous cages and H block of Long Kesh, and was one of the 
first to "go on the blanket" and protest imprisonment by 
refusing to wear clothes or bathe.  Significantly, Walsh was 
friend and cell mate of Bobby Sands.  His friendship with 
Sands is important both because Sands is a hero to the IRA 
and because Sands' sister married Michael McKevitt, founder 
of the breakaway Real IRA. By having Walsh deliver the 
message, the GOI believes the IRA was trying to dissuade any 
potential dissenters and show the "guys on the ground that 
the army is in charge." 
 
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Three Governments Working Together 
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6. (C) The GOI believes July 28 developments send a positive 
signal to the world that intractable problems can be solved 
if governments work together.   He said that in the case of 
Northern Ireland, it was not just the UK and Ireland, but 
equally the U.S. that drove the process.  Gallagher thanked 
the U.S. for its role as honest broker throughout.  He and 
the Ambassador agreed that the united front since the 
breakdown of Leeds castle talks in December helped Sinn Fein 
and the IRA understand that they had to make this move. 
 
.......Next Steps 
 
7. (C) Gallagher asked that the USG stay engaged.  All three 
governments, he said, need to "send signals of engagement" in 
order to keep the momentum going.  He said the GOI is 
particularly concerned that the UK not "sit on its hands" 
until January but rather take steps that signal the Good 
Friday Agreement is on track. He said Sinn Fein will want 
front loading of demilitarization.  Decommissioning, British 
demilitarization, and IMC reports about IRA actions will be 
mutually reinforcing, according to Gallagher.  Come January, 
he said, if the IMC has issued two successive, positive 
reports on IRA behaviour, the onus will be on unionists. 
Good IMC reports would also pave the way for movement on 
other issues. 
 
8. (C)  On a close-hold basis, Brendan Scannell, Director of 
the Northern Ireland office, indicated that the UK and 
Ireland would move in tandem to deal with "on the runs" 
(OTRs) once the acts of completion have been achieved.  He 
said no new laws were needed but rather the government 
planned to publish a "scheme," probably in November, for 
dealing with the issue.  He said an eligibility body would be 
established  to deal with "qualifying persons."  Gallagher 
made a point of saying that the issue of releasing the men 
convicted of killing Garda McCabe was "off the table." 
Gallagher also made clear that investigations into money 
laundering (Dublin 936) and the Northern Bank robbery were 
ongoing and "the law of the land" will stand.  He pointedly 
said that the criminals involved are not covered under the 
Good Friday Agreement and the investigations will proceed 
according to the law. 
 
..........U.S. engagement 
 
9. (C) Gallagher said continued and visible US engagement is 
needed.  He asked if the USG could "send signals of 
engagement," and referred to FM Ahern's planned visit to the 
U.S. in September for the UNGA, and the travels of the 
President's Special Envoy.  He said the U.S. could be very 
helpful on policing and possibly on economic development, as 
Sinn Fein seeks to show its followers that peace brings a 
better standard of living.  He said it would also be helpful 
to plug references to the peace process into major foreign 
policy speeches.  In addition, the GOI is worried about that 
Loyalist paramilitaries will stop fighting each other and 
lash out at the nationalist community, and asked if the US 
could send a signal to them. 
 
 
KENNY