A chara, - There is absolutely no legal basis for keeping in prison the men convicted of the manslaughter of Garda Jerry McCabe. They qualify unequivocally for release under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement. The agreement is quite clear in who qualifies for release: it covers all members of organisations that have maintained a ceasefire. The IRA has maintained its ceasefire for almost five years and made undoubtedly the biggest contribution to the peace process from all sides.
Why did the Government not insist on having a clause barring their release inserted into the Agreement when it was being negotiated? Or has it cynically taken this stance to rebuild its flagging credibility?
There is no room for double standards on this issue. The Good Friday Agreement is an international agreement that aims to resolve the conflict in our country. No conflict resolution process can have a hierarchy of victims or suffering and no one can have a monopoly on suffering. No single victim can be treated as more important than any other.
Prisoners convicted of killing RUC men and British soldiers have been released. Is the life of an RUC officer less valuable to commentators in the South than that of a Garda officer? - Is mise,
Marcus Seoighe, Thornville Road, Kilbarrack, Dublin 5.