October 11, 2008
Questions for the Presidential Candidates 2008

The Ancient Order of Hibernians in America, the Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians, and the Irish American Unity Conference are committed to promoting the peaceful reunification of Ireland and peace with justice throughout Ireland. The AOH/LAOH and the IAUC are represented in almost every state in our country. We are non-political but we keep our membership informed on the views of political candidates on Ireland.

Our memberships are seeking your position on a number of issues which concern all Irish/Americans in the USA. We are committed to the task of keeping the Peace Process moving forward and we recognize the vital role the United States has and continues to play in providing direction, resources, and leadership for all parties and governments involved both Democrat and Republican. The IAUC, AOH, and LAOH feel that the United States government must continue to monitor the progress of the Good Friday Agreement, which the American government was the catalyst in securing in 1998.

There are continuing challenges facing Northern Ireland, the peace process, and the US relationship to Ireland today. Our questions fall into 7 broad categories:

• The Northern Ireland Peace Process
• Policing in Northern Ireland
• Collusion/Truth Recovery
• Immigration
• Former Irish Republican Activists/Deportation
• US – UK extradition treaty
• Investment

1. U.S. Envoy to Northern Ireland:
Will your Administration or the State Department have a representative to monitor the Peace Process, which evolved into the Good Friday Agreement, and the present Partnership Government in the Belfast Assembly since 1996. It is our opinion that there is still a role for a representative from the U.S. Government to oversee the still evolving devolved government in Belfast.

Question: Will your administration or the Department of State designate a representative or ambassador to the Peace Process in Northern Ireland?

Answer: Yes. Senator Obama has long supported the Northern Ireland peace process and has stated that he would be personally involved when required. After consultations with prominent Irish-Americans, and informal soundings with British and Irish officials, Senator Obama affirmed his intention to appoint an envoy.

2. Policing:
The British Government has agreed in principle to the transfer of policing and justice powers from their hands to the Northern Ireland Assembly and the All Ireland Ministerial Council but at this date that has not occurred. A defined time frame has not been set for this transfer. Policing is one of the most important issues at the heart of conflict resolution. Any police service must be democratically accountable and representative of the people they serve, which in this case is the Stormont Assembly.

Question: Will your administration support our call for the British Government to complete the transfer of the power of Policing and Justice to the Northern Ireland Assembly as outlined by the Patten Report and the Good Friday Agreement immediately?

Answer: Senator Obama has repeatedly called for the devolution of policing and justice to occur without delay. The most recent report by the Independent Monitoring Commission makes clear that the IRA Army Council is “no longer functional nor operational.” There is no convincing reason for these authorities to remain under control of the British
Government, and devolution should occur without delay.

3. Collusion/Truth Recovery:
In the past the role of the security force in Northern Ireland, both the Royal Ulster Constabulary and the British Army, has been involved in a “Dirty War”. Both the nationalist and loyalist communities are gravely concerned about the issue of collusion (state sponsored crime involving the police and Army with loyalist murder gangs during the conflict known as the “Troubles”) and truth recovery. Full disclosure would expose those within the police and Army who were responsible for past atrocities and bring about their removal from the Security Forces. This disclosure would increase community confidence in the security forces and make them more accountable to the communities they serve.

Question: Will your administration support and call for full disclosure and truth recovery similar to the South African truth and recovery?

Answer: Senator Obama would support a reconciliation process that seeks the comprehensive truth about past violence.

(a) The Pat Finucane Assassination, the murder of a Belfast Human Rights Lawyer having Sunday dinner with his family, is an especially egregious example of Collusion, it will be 20 Years this winter with no enquiry by the London Government into who was ultimately responsible for the murder.

Question: Will your administration continue to support, as the past two administrations have, an International Enquiry into this murder?

Answer: Senator Obama believes there should be an independent, public inquiry as Judge Cory recommended.

4. Immigration:
The United States historically owes its strength to the successive waves of immigrants who came to flee oppression and seek a new life safeguarded by an open democratic system. In recent years, the issue of immigration has been framed by increasingly acrimonious debate.

Question: Will your administration support Immigration Reform that would bring closure to families suffering in the United States?

Answer: Senator Obama supports comprehensive immigration reform. While Senator McCain has backed away from comprehensive reform, Senator Obama will fight for a reform package that keeps open the doors of opportunity in our country. Obama has played a leading role in crafting comprehensive immigration reform and believes that our broken immigration system can only be fixed by putting politics aside and offering a solution that strengthens our security while reaffirming our heritage as a
nation of immigrants. He believes we must secure our borders, fix our broken immigration bureaucracy, and require the 12 million undocumented to get on a responsible path to citizenship.

5. Former Irish Republican Activists/Deportation:
Within the context of the previous question, there is a small sub-group of immigrants in which this organization has a particular interest. There is a group of former Irish Republican Activists (numbering approximately 16 individuals) who have faced deportation because of their prior affiliation with the Irish Republican Movement. The US Government has pursued a policy against these men which is very much out of step with recent developments in the peace process, specifically the voluntary disarming by the Irish Republican Army and the dissolution of the IRA itself and their commitment to a peaceful, political resolution. Our organization calls for full legal status for these men and their families, in support of the peace process.

Question: Will your administration support an approach to this issue which would suggest a ‘peace dividend’ for these men and their families?

Answer: An Obama administration would look at each of these cases on a case-by-case basis within the context of broader comprehensive immigration reform.

6. US – UK Extradition Treaty:
The new extradition treaty between the U.S. and Britain, as well as a number of other recent treaties, has provisions that shift key decisions about extradition from the courts to the executive branch and otherwise weakens the ability of the person sought for extradition to mount an effective defense. The AOH is especially concerned that they would enable the threat of extradition to be used to stifle opposition to British policies by people in this country. The Senate added language to the treaty which requires a report by the State Department on any problems with the treaty

Question: Will your administration support revising the treaty to restore protections against biased or politically motivated extradition requests, and ensure due process and publicize the report from the State Department?

Answer: No American will be extradited for political activity, which is protected by the First Amendment. Any such activity would not meet the “dual criminality” requirement of the treaty – i.e., that the action be a criminal offense in each country. Senator Obama’s Secretary of State will have a duty, in carrying out every extradition treaty, to rigorously scrutinize every extradition request to ensure that they are not politically motivated. Federal judges will still decide whether the political offense exception applies in an extradition case. The first State Department report on the revised treaty was recently submitted to the Foreign Relations Committee. The report gives no reason to be concerned about the operation of the treaty to date.

7. Investment
The stated position of the United States government is that the promotion of investment in Northern Ireland is integral to the lasting security and stability of the new power-sharing government. To truly promote stability and build a foundation for lasting change, such investment must be inclusive, just, and reflective of the real needs of all communities in Northern Ireland. American investment in Northern Ireland should be encouraged, but fairly distributed to reaches all sectors of society, Catholic and Protestant, especially those areas that suffered the most during the recent conflict and continue to be the most disenfranchised economically.

Question: Will your administration continue to support targeted American investment, and take measures to ensure that American investment in the "new Northern Ireland" is fair, equitable, and inclusive?

Answer: Senator Obama believes that business investment in Northern Ireland should be fair, equitable and inclusive.