Bruton criticises Clinton attitude to Sinn Fein

Sinn FΘin and the IRA should face tougher questions from the United States in the wake of last week's terrorist atrocities in New York and Washington, former Taoiseach Mr John Bruton has declared.

Speaking to the US Ambassador to Ireland, Mr Richard Egan, Mr Bruton openly criticised the attitude adopted towards Sinn FΘin by the Clinton administration, and particularly by one of Mr Egan's predecessors, Ms Jean Kennedy Smith.

During a special meeting of the Oireachtas Foreign Affairs Committee, he said: "We had a situation when I was Taoiseach that the leader of Sinn FΘin was more welcome in the US embassy than the leaders of any other party." The IRA "still holds onto its arsenal of weapons three years after the Good Friday agreement and is still involved in murders, kneecappings and punishment beatings".

The former Progressive Democrats leader, Mr Des O'Malley, said he had been concerned "for some time" that both Dublin and London were appeasing those involved in terrorism "on this island". "Appeasing such people can be a very dangerous course. Why should there continue to be such a close relationship with Sinn FΘin, which is simply the other face of the IRA, when, several years after the Good Friday agreement, they have still refused to give up their arms." Much of the IRA's stockpile of arms came from Libya, which later helped to blow up a Pan American aircraft over Lockerbie in Scotland. Furthermore, the IRA was linked to FARC in Colombia and ETA in Spain.

"They appear to be still in the market in eastern Europe and elsewhere for the purchase of arms and explosives. One has to ask why? In Ireland, they are involved in various criminal activities, with an ongoing involvement in the drugs trade and in different protection rackets.

"Notwithstanding all this their representatives are received by senior government representatives from time to time in Dublin, London and Washington. One has to ask why?" Mr O'Malley said.

Later, Mr Bruton said international terrorists' finances, currently hidden in a maze of bank accounts throughout the world, should be seized immediately by concerted international action.

A global conference should be held within 10 days in Washington to orchestrate the seizure, improve police co-operation and agree an internationally acceptable definition of terrorism, he said.

The language used by US politicians since the atrocities had been of concern, he said. "The focus plainly has been on vengeance. Vengeance, to my mind, is one of the more base human emotions. It is not a basis for coherent foreign and security policy. I am a bit surprised that the instinctive reaction has been instantly one of immediate military action on some target without a strategic analysis of what the outcome of this strike would be."

During his contributions Mr Bruton echoed the fears of many other members of the committee, who largely matched sympathy for the victims and the bereaved with concern about the scale of the US retaliation to come.

In addition, a number of committee members, including Fine Gael TD Mr Austin Deasy and Fianna Fβil Senator Michael Lanigan, insisted that Palestinians must not become the victims.

"I believe that the atrocities have a lot to do with the treatment of the Palestinian people. I think that it behoves us to get a fair deal for the Palestinians," said Mr Deasy, who roundly condemned the attacks.

The former deputy leader of Fine Gael, Ms Nora Owen, said people from 62 nationalities died in the attacks. Pleading for a measured reaction by the United States, she said the Fine Gael/Labour/ Democratic Left government had had "to keep a cool head" in the wake of the reaction to the Canary Wharf bombing.

Labour TD Mr Michael D. Higgins rejected the belief of some that the attacks marked the beginning of a conflict between the Western world and Islam. "This is not a clash of civilisations," he said.

Replying, the US Ambassador said he hoped that all the expressions of sympathy would be followed up by concrete acts of support for President Bush's campaign to root out terrorism. "I wish we could solve all the problems of the world. Maybe some day we will. But the one thing that is about to eat us alive is terrorism. The resources of the US will be focused on this in the near time: not to the exclusion of everything else, but it will be the priority."