Sinn Féin has said there is "no connection whatsoever" between the Columbian Marxist guerrilla group, FARC, and the three alleged IRA members being held in Bogota.
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Speaking on
RTÉ
radio this morning, Sinn Féin chairman, Mr Mitchell McLaughlin said "we have no responsibility to them, they have no responsibility to us."
The statement comes as Sinn Féin come under mounting pressure from all sides including calls from Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Labour Party to clarify its position in relation to any association Sinn Féin may have with the men being held.
Last night, the US State Department also issued a warning saying the IRA could face US penalties should a link be established between the IRA and Colombia's largest left-wing guerrilla army.
US State Department spokesman, Mr Philip Reeker, said "we would be concerned if it were established that the Irish Republican Army were assisting, sharing information or in any way collaborating with a violent terrorist organisation such as the FARC".
A story in yesterday's Washinton Postreported that Sinn Féin was beginning to loose credibility in the US. The paper said Sinn Féin and it's leader Mr Gerry Adams "used to have friends in Washington, but their band is dwindling now."
Mr McLaughlin dismissed the paper’s allegations as being pro-British saying "What is crystal clear is that after the initial media frenzy based on a drip feed from unnamed intelligence sources we see that many of these allegations are now falling apart."
The Sinn Féin chairman, repeated that the men being held had "nothing to do with Sinn Fein." He said "the men themselves have made it clear that they are not acting on behalf of the IRA."
