British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab
By Irish Echo Staff
As the days wind down towards the November 3rd election the American Brexit Committee, an Irish American advocacy group based in Philadelphia, though with members in several other cities, has issued a stark warning about the dangers posed by Brexit to the Northern Ireland peace and political process - and the Good Friday Agreement in particular.
In a statement, the committee stated that "as Britain stumbles to the finish line," with or without an EU trade deal, "the one certainty is that the Good Friday Agreement principles are in tatters."
The statement said: "The Northern Ireland protocol of the EU Withdrawal pact is moot and the obligations of civil and human rights, Gaelic language and justice and truth for families of victims of Britain’s murderous security services are shelved."
The statement carried the views of a number of members, among them a former chairman of the American Bar Association, International section, Michael Burke, who stated that he fears there has been "a break-down in the Irish peace process.”
Committee members, the statement noted, question whether Britain should be given a U.S. trade deal for its "destabilization policies in Ireland."
Sara McAuliffe from Pennsylvania said: “The UK publicly professes concern for the GFA, but bills are advanced in parliament to unilaterally grant amnesty to soldiers involved in killing civilians in Northern Ireland and to empower ministers to endlessly stall any unity referendum.”
New York attorney Tom Fox noted that British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab’s "well timed rebuke of Belarus’ Lukashenko," was simply a distraction away from the British legacy of lawlessness and human rights violations in Northern Ireland.
Continued Fox: “We hope the concern of U.S. Senator (Chris) Murphy of Connecticut, who recently criticized America’s turning away from making human rights an element of foreign policy, will be shared and given voice by other members when any U.S.-UK trade deal comes before Congress.”
“Let us not forget,” said Joe Farrell of Ohio, “the British ignored the Northern Ireland vote to remain in the EU so that they can continue its sinister manipulation of the political and economic life of the people in a 32 county Ireland. Any U.S.-UK trade deal should take into account any impact on Ireland’s business and economy.”
Boston attorney Jim Cotter concluded the statement by saying, and with clear reference to President Trump: “For Americans of Irish descent one of many things to consider for this election must be why the U.S. should reward Britain for its lethal policies in Northern Ireland. Why should Congress rush to consider a tiny UK trade deal when the much larger EU market has been on the president’s back burner for four years?
"The break-up of the EU and NATO have always been Putin’s goals and many have questioned if the president still wants that Moscow Trump hotel.”
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