IRISH CIVIL LIBERTIES COUNCIL WARNS AGAINST INTERNMENT
Irish Civil Liberties Council warns against introduction of internment
by Kevin Barry
DESPITE the widespread horror and revulsion caused by the Omagh bombing, internment should not be introduced to deal with the terrorists involved, the Irish Council for Civil Liberties said yesterday.
"Internment without trial means jailing people without evidence," said ICCL co-chairperson Michael Farrell. "It is the negation of the rule of law and would inevitably mean that innocent people would be put in prison."
Crucially, the ICCL insist that the introduction of internment would undermine a series of human rights commitments given by the two governments in the Good Friday Agreement and would also breach international human rights obligations.
"To introduce internment would be to create a factory of injustices," said Mr Farrell.
He pointed to the general horror that was evident in Ireland last month at the supposed injustice inflicted on Elaine Moore, the young Irish woman arrested and held in London.
"How many more Elaine Moores would there be if internment was introduced?" he asked.
Internment might also play into the hands of the terrorists behind the Omagh bomb, the ICCL suggest.
"It would generate sympathy for the organisations whose members or supporters were detained and give them a political platform around which to gather support," the Council stated.
The ICCL say it is crucial that the Government is not swayed by what it terms "the politics of the last atrocity."
"The best way to prevent further atrocities is to pursue the human rights commitments in the Good Friday Agreement and persuade even the begrudgers that henceforth their grievances can be remedied by legal and democratic means," the Irish Council for Civil Liberties explained.
Courtesy of Irish Examiner
by Kevin Barry
DESPITE the widespread horror and revulsion caused by the Omagh bombing, internment should not be introduced to deal with the terrorists involved, the Irish Council for Civil Liberties said yesterday.
"Internment without trial means jailing people without evidence," said ICCL co-chairperson Michael Farrell. "It is the negation of the rule of law and would inevitably mean that innocent people would be put in prison."
Crucially, the ICCL insist that the introduction of internment would undermine a series of human rights commitments given by the two governments in the Good Friday Agreement and would also breach international human rights obligations.
"To introduce internment would be to create a factory of injustices," said Mr Farrell.
He pointed to the general horror that was evident in Ireland last month at the supposed injustice inflicted on Elaine Moore, the young Irish woman arrested and held in London.
"How many more Elaine Moores would there be if internment was introduced?" he asked.
Internment might also play into the hands of the terrorists behind the Omagh bomb, the ICCL suggest.
"It would generate sympathy for the organisations whose members or supporters were detained and give them a political platform around which to gather support," the Council stated.
The ICCL say it is crucial that the Government is not swayed by what it terms "the politics of the last atrocity."
"The best way to prevent further atrocities is to pursue the human rights commitments in the Good Friday Agreement and persuade even the begrudgers that henceforth their grievances can be remedied by legal and democratic means," the Irish Council for Civil Liberties explained.
Courtesy of Irish Examiner
Further Information
Publisher: THE EXAMINER
Ref: TEX/056
Published Date: 18-Aug-98
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