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IRSP Ard Comhairle member Terry Harkin has accused the DUP of "Pot Boiling" following what he called an "intensive media misrepresentation campaign," carried out by the DUP and Press Association yesterday linking the five year old INLA ceasefire to the extradition of deportee John Eddie McNicholl to the North.
Mr. Harkin said "From this story first surfaced on UTV last night we have been very concerned about the motives behind these reports". "We are very angry about this attempt to link the fate of a man who, having lived for over 20 years peacefully in the US was abducted outside his family home and deported for no other reason than being accused of having links with a group that George Bush Jnr. doesn't like because they won't accept the validity of US government involvement in Irish affairs and even worse are socialist in their outlook". "Now, we have these strange bedfellows in the PA and DUP trying to link him to the validity of the INLA ceasefire. This is not the case, no segment of the Republican Socialist Movement has met with the Free State or any government over Mr. McNicholl's case, no nods, winks or any other form of Monty Python politics has taken place between representatives of our movement and anyone over John Eddie. No one from our movement has spoken to anyone from the PA about this story but we can be sure that the only grain of truth in this is are the quotes from the DUP's William Hay because that's where the whole story came from". "No RSM personnel spoke to Alan Erwin, he never phoned our office, he made no attempt to check this old fashioned cod's wallop out." "Let me make one thing very clear -- the INLA ceasefire was called because of the wishes of the Irish people as expressed in the referenda and is not contingent on any one person. It is a stand alone case, John Eddie McNicholl's situation is a stand alone case, they have no connection whatsoever. The DUP are pot boiling to back up Jeffrey Donaldson and Burnside in keeping Trimble under pressure. It's all Co. Derry sheep droppings and spin, it's also too complex for the DUP to work out on their own". "Me thinks we detect the sickly hand of a former professional spin doctor in all this". STATEMENTS ENDS |