Secretary of State Mike Pompeo
By Irish Echo Staff
The American Brexit Committee has appealed to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo “to confront the British government for their efforts undermining the Irish peace process and the Stormont House Agreement.
Said Committee chairman John Corcoran in a release: “The Department of State’s 2019 Human Rights Report is less than forthcoming about the extent of British Army-PSNI collusion in killings in Northern Ireland. America should demand accountability, not join in Britain’s cover-up.”
Kathy Savage, committee member from Lynn, Massachusetts added: “British belligerence over the Northern Ireland Brexit protocol and the rush to grant amnesty to British security services for killing civilians in Northern Ireland means another generation in Ireland must suffer with lawless misrule and dismissal of democratic votes to remain in the EU.”
Brexit talks, the release stated, seem headed for a no-deal exit and the Department of State remains silent on what economic and political impact a no-deal break from the EU would have on all of Ireland and the Good Friday Agreement.
Former national president of the Irish American Unity Conference committee member from Denver, colorado, Thomas J. Burke, said he was moved by Archbishop Eamon Martin’s concern for the Overseas Operation bill currently before the Westminster parliament.
It effectively grants impunity from prosecution for police and army collusion killings of civilians in Northern Ireland, the release said.
“I would urge Secretary of State Pompeo to join his voice with religious and political leaders in Ireland who fear Britain’s dismissal of the pleas of victims families will compound injustices,” Burke said.
In Tampa, Florida, former national chairman of the Irish Northern Aid Committee, Paul Murray, remarked: “Over the decades of the conflict, our Department of State has spoken out about human rights violations, State-sponsored assassinations, lawless rule and injustices of many nations, but never finds its voice to challenge those same crimes when committed by the British in Ireland.
“The potential of the GFA has been gradually eroded with the trashing of the Stormont House Agreement. I would like to see the Department of State acknowledge the potential harm of the passing of the Overseas Operation bill and no-deal Brexit before any U.S.-UK trade deal is put before Congress for a vote.”
