THEY SOUGHT ASYLUM IN LIBYA
THEY SOUGHT ASYLUM IN LIBYA
By DON MACKAY
RENEGADE republican Mickey McKevitt pleaded with Libyan dictator Colonel Gaddafi for a bolt hole.
The man who set up the political wing of the Real IRA reportedly begged the Libyan leader to give him and his breakaway cronies a refuge.
The dissidents' leader allegedly asked for false passports and a secure hiding place barely 48 hours BEFORE the blast which killed 28 and left 220 injured.
McKevitt and his partner Bernadette Sands - sister of dead hunger-striker Bobby Sands - setup the 32 County movement.
Details of his appeal for sanctuary to Gaddafi were picked up by Israeli secret agents who in turn tipped off the British government.
Campaign
At the time the Real IRA was already bombing Northern Ireland towns after they turned their backs on the Good Friday Agreement.
A secret meeting was held with one of Gaddafi's henchmen in an hotel in Amsterdam in April.
Said a security source: "The Real IRA knew they faced big risks to their own campaign against the Provisional IRA's wishes.
"They wanted a bolthole if things got too hot for them in Belfast."
After the meeting, 32 County Sovereignty representative Bernadette Sands was invited to Tripoli for a speaking engagement.
In the past, terror groups have been equipped and trained in Libya.
The Libyans had agreed to change and release half-a-dozen Irish passports from a secret stock held by the Libyan Ministry of Foreign Affairs since the documents were stolen from the Irish Passport Office in 1984.
Camps
They also promised "young guests" from the Real IRA would be welcomed at one of the training camps in the North African desert - once the training ground the Provos.
There seems little doubt that Mossad has been using its insider knowledge of the passports to track the senior republican travellers for years.
By DON MACKAY
RENEGADE republican Mickey McKevitt pleaded with Libyan dictator Colonel Gaddafi for a bolt hole.
The man who set up the political wing of the Real IRA reportedly begged the Libyan leader to give him and his breakaway cronies a refuge.
The dissidents' leader allegedly asked for false passports and a secure hiding place barely 48 hours BEFORE the blast which killed 28 and left 220 injured.
McKevitt and his partner Bernadette Sands - sister of dead hunger-striker Bobby Sands - setup the 32 County movement.
Details of his appeal for sanctuary to Gaddafi were picked up by Israeli secret agents who in turn tipped off the British government.
Campaign
At the time the Real IRA was already bombing Northern Ireland towns after they turned their backs on the Good Friday Agreement.
A secret meeting was held with one of Gaddafi's henchmen in an hotel in Amsterdam in April.
Said a security source: "The Real IRA knew they faced big risks to their own campaign against the Provisional IRA's wishes.
"They wanted a bolthole if things got too hot for them in Belfast."
After the meeting, 32 County Sovereignty representative Bernadette Sands was invited to Tripoli for a speaking engagement.
In the past, terror groups have been equipped and trained in Libya.
The Libyans had agreed to change and release half-a-dozen Irish passports from a secret stock held by the Libyan Ministry of Foreign Affairs since the documents were stolen from the Irish Passport Office in 1984.
Camps
They also promised "young guests" from the Real IRA would be welcomed at one of the training camps in the North African desert - once the training ground the Provos.
There seems little doubt that Mossad has been using its insider knowledge of the passports to track the senior republican travellers for years.
Further Information
Publisher: THE MIRROR
Ref: TM/069
Published Date: 20-Aug-98
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