US embassy cable - 05DUBLIN1050

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 DUBLIN 001050 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/31/2015 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, PTER, KCRM, KJUS, CO, EI, CI3 
SUBJECT: FOREIGN MINISTER AHERN DISCUSSES NORTHERN IRELAND, 
COLOMBIA THREE, AND IMMIGRATION WITH SENATOR LUGAR 
 
 
Classified By: Ambassador James C. Kenny; Reasons 1.4 (B) and (D). 
 
1.  (C) Summary.  In an August 25 meeting with SFRC Chairman 
Lugar and the Ambassador, Irish Foreign Minister Dermot Ahern 
said that continued U.S. support for the Northern Ireland 
peace process, including through the International Fund for 
Ireland (IFI), would help to foster reconciliation between 
unionists and republicans.  When Ahern cited legal 
difficulties with a prospective Colombian request for 
extradition of the Colombia Three, Senator Lugar cautioned 
against the possibility that Ireland would be seen as a haven 
for terrorists.  Ahern cited GOI interest in U.S. immigration 
legislation affecting several thousand undocumented Irish in 
the United States, and he agreed with Senator Lugar's 
observation that Ireland's economic success was a draw for 
Irish returnees and European immigrants.  Ahern and Senator 
Lugar also concurred on the importance of seizing the moment 
for wide-ranging UN reform.  End summary. 
 
The Northern Ireland Peace Process and IFI 
------------------------------------------ 
 
2.  (C) U.S. Congressional support for the Northern Ireland 
peace process, including through the International Fund for 
Ireland (IFI), had been pivotal in securing the IRA's 
historic pledge in July to lay down arms, Irish Foreign 
Minister Dermot Ahern told visiting Senator (and SFRC 
Chairman) Richard Lugar and the Ambassador on August 25. 
Ahern said that continued U.S. contributions to the IFI were 
needed "now more than ever" to help the Northern Ireland 
communities build upon the peace, notwithstanding arguments 
that the IFI was antiquated.  He explained that although 
major violence had ceased, unionists and republicans had 
become "balkanized" in their respective residential areas, 
exacerbating the challenge of reconciliation.  In addition, 
there were rifts among unionists, due to perceptions that 
political leaders were not adequately representing their 
constituents.  Whereas unionists had initially repudiated the 
IFI, they were now enthusiastic to participate in IFI 
programs -- a trend that offered the possibility of bringing 
communities together on the ground.  Senator Lugar recounted 
past Congressional support for the IFI and said that 
developments in Northern Ireland would be considered in 
determining future levels of assistance. 
 
The Colombia Three and Extradition 
---------------------------------- 
 
3.  (C) The recent return of the Colombia Three to Ireland 
was a brazen, choreographed republican act that had caught 
the Irish Government by surprise, said Ahern.  He emphasized 
that the Government and Sinn Fein had not discussed the 
Colombian Three case prior to the IRA's July pledge to 
abandon paramilitarism.  Although the Government was 
unsympathetic to the three individuals, it recognized the 
legal difficulties inherent in any prospective Colombian 
request for extradition, particularly in the absence of an 
extradition treaty and against the background of 
controversial extradition cases involving the UK during the 
Northern Ireland Troubles.  Ahern contrasted the situation 
with new EU mechanisms to facilitate Irish extraditions to 
Member States, and he also questioned whether the USG would 
extradite citizens to Colombia, given its legal/penal system. 
 When the Ambassador pointed out that the Irish Government 
had not acted on numerous U.S. requests to extradite criminal 
fugitives from Ireland back to the United States, Ahern said 
he was unfamiliar with the requests and asked for follow-up 
details.  Senator Lugar said that he could understand the 
legal complexities involved in extradition cases, but noted 
that Ireland would not want to be seen as a haven for 
terrorists. 
 
Immigration: the United States and Ireland 
------------------------------------------ 
 
4.  (C) Ahern cited strong Irish Government interest in 
Congressional debate on the McCain/Kennedy immigration bill, 
as there were 20-30,000 undocumented Irish in the United 
States.  He said that the Irish public held sympathy for 
these "illegals," since most had left home in the 1970s and 
'80s during the height of the Troubles at a time of record 
unemployment.  Senator Lugar replied that the McCain/Kennedy 
bill was a top legislative priority for the Congress, noting 
that the bill was framed primarily to address the presence of 
several million undocumented Mexicans in the United States, 
including 325,000 in Indiana.  He remarked that, with 
employment opportunities in the Celtic Tiger economy, Ireland 
was able to welcome Irish returnees and European immigrants, 
a situation that contrasted with isolationist/nativist 
pressures in the United States.  Ahern observed that 100,000 
immigrants from the new EU Member States had arrived since 
May 2004 and that over 20,000 Irish had returned from the 
United States between 1998 and 2002.  He added that Ireland's 
challenge in accommodating this inflow was to sustain 
economic growth and to secure the future for an aging 
population. 
 
UN Reform 
--------- 
 
5.  (C) Ahern noted in closing that he had consulted widely 
in Europe as UNSYG Annan's regional envoy on UN reform and 
had emphasized in his travels that opportunities for overall 
UN reform should not be lost in the debate on UN Security 
Council reform.  Senator Lugar agreed on the importance of 
seizing the moment to improve the UN system.  He also quipped 
that Ahern was the first European leader he had met in recent 
months who had not sought to discuss a particular formula for 
restructuring the UNSC. 
 
6.  (U) Senator Lugar did not have an opportunity to clear 
this cable. 
KENNY