The decision by Gerry Adams to give the Police Ombudsman names of Sinn Féin members suspected of involvement in the murder of Robert McCartney is of "symbolic significance", the dead man's sisters said yesterday.
Last night Paula McCartney said the IRA should make clear that no person who approached the PSNI was under any threat from them.
The IRA has already expelled three members and Sinn Féin has suspended seven of its members with alleged links to the murder. The PSNI said the suspensions were not enough.
Speaking at the family home in Belfast's Short Strand Mr McCartney's sister said: "The statement by Gerry Adams is viewed by this family as a positive step forward. We welcome and accept Gerry Adams's personal comments that he will not rest until this family receives justice."
She also said the family will travel to Washington DC on March 15th to highlight the case there.
On behalf of the family, she added: "The basic action taken by Sinn Féin in relation to their members involved in Robert's murder is nothing more than what would have been expected from any democratically elected party.
"Although we would have liked this to have happened earlier, as those names have been known to Sinn Féin officials from the outset. The handing over of the names to the Police Ombudsman through a solicitor is of symbolic significance."
She said the family did not know which names the Sinn Féin president supplied to Police Ombudsman Nuala O'Loan.
Addressing the shortage of admissible evidence made available to the PSNI, Ms McCartney said: "Providing a solicitor with a statement to be passed on to the Ombudsman is an inadequate method of gathering evidence."
"Robert's life was taken from him as if it was of no value," the family said. "It is only when those involved are convicted will the value of life be restored." They were speaking after a fresh appeal for information was made by Det Supt George Hamilton, a senior officer investigating the January 30th murder.
He said that those arrested and questioned in connection with the case had not told the police anything. "They have exercised their legal right to remain silent," he said.
"That means us, as the serious crime branch in the Police Service of Northern Ireland, relying heavily upon people who are witnesses to this murder to come forward and provide evidence to us." The Irish Times understands that a central suspect has been absent from his home for some weeks and has not yet been arrested or questioned.
Others who have voluntarily presented themselves to police have remained silent. It was suggested that this could be a tactical ploy by those opposed to the PSNI to portray the police in a bad light, compared with the expulsions and suspensions ordered by the IRA and Sinn Féin.
Det Supt Hamilton confirmed that a protocol with Mrs O'Loan's office had been agreed, whereby witnesses could assist the inquiry. "We need people to provide statements to the police in the first instance and then follow that through and be prepared to give that evidence to a judge in open court," he said.
"Those people also need to feel comfortable that having made those statements, that they can return to their own communities and live in their own homes in safety."
Northern Ireland courts can interpret negatively an individual's decision to remain silent if arrested and questioned, a trusted legal source said.
Mrs O'Loan said yesterday her office would not be compromised by taking statements relating to the murder.
She told RTÉ her office had trained investigators who could take statements. Stressing the primacy of the PSNI, she said her office would assist the community to bring evidence to the police, who would then conduct the investigation.
SDLP leader Mark Durkan accused Mr Adams of duplicity following the suspensions of party members and the passing of names to the Police Ombudsman.