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THE
U.S. GOVERNMENT VISA DENIAL POLICY POSITION PAPER
The National Irish Freedom
Committee (NIFC) will endeavor to engage political leaders, the
media and the American public in bringing pressure to bear on
the U.S. government to reverse its selective visa denial policy
directed at Eire Nua
proponents, who wish to promote the Eire Nua (New
Ireland) peace plan here in the United States.
Eire Nua (New Ireland) is a
comprehensive Irish authored political program designed to
achieve a just and lasting peace in Ireland in the context of a
British withdrawal. Initially proposed by Sinn Fein in 1972,
Eire Nua sets forth specific proposals to start the process of
Irish reunification and reconciliation. It also includes
proposals for a new all-Ireland constitution. The principle on
which Eire Nua is based envisions a system of government in
which all creeds and traditions would be represented and all
citizens could exercise real power, without any one group
infringing on the right of others.
Since 1974, the U.S. government has denied visas to Eire Nua
representatives to enter the United States to promote the Eire
Nua (New Ireland) program. The U.S. government has acquiesced to
pressure by the British and the Irish 26-county governments by
summarily denying entry visas to Eire Nua spokespersons
including Ruairi O' Bradaigh. The British consider O'Bradaigh
and the other targeted individuals to be effective spokespersons
for the Eire Nua program, and if granted access to the U. S
would pose a serious threat to their own unopposed public
relations campaign in the U.S., which seeks to legitimize
British occupation of six of Irelands' thirty-two counties.
Representatives of other political
organizations who support British arrangements have been granted
visas to visit the United States, simply because of their
pro-British stance. These organizations include Provisional Sinn
Fein, the Socialist Democratic Labor Party, the Democratic
Unionist Party and the Official Unionist Party. Also welcomed
were members of pro-British paramilitary groups namely the
Ulster Defense Association and the Ulster Volunteer Force whose
members have been at the forefront of sectarian killings and
violence.
In 1978 the leaders of Irish
organizations in New Jersey petitioned Peter Rodino, the
Chairman of the House Judiciary, to investigate the denial of
visas to members of Sinn Fein. The inquiry, which was led by
Joshua Eilberg (D PA) and Hamilton Fish (R.NY), took place in
Ireland and England in September 1978. Despite the best efforts
of the British, Irish and United States governments to set the
agenda and select the individuals to be interviewed Eilberg and
Fish insisted on including members of Sinn Fein who were denied
visas. After interviewing these individuals and confronting them
with the reasons given by the State Department for denying them
visas, Eilberg and Fish concluded that none of them should have
been denied visas. They further concluded that the Federal
Bureau of Investigation and their British counterparts contrived
all of the charges levied against them. Despite these
conclusions the United States government continues to enforce
this visa denial policy on behest of the British and Irish
governments.
The ensuing ‘Justice Report
- Politics and Visa Denials’ states that all those who
applied for visas should be allowed into the United States and
none excluded.
The NIFC believes that
representatives of Republican Sinn Fein should be allowed access
to the United States to promote the Eire Nua program. This would
allow the American public an opportunity to compare and decide
for themselves which peace plan offers the best chance for a
just and lasting peace in Ireland. The NIFC further believes
that this visa denial policy constitutes contempt for the Irish
American constituency and is unique in the respect that no other
known American group suffers from similar restraints. This
policy also constitutes censorship and denies the public the
right to freedom of information, and also denies them access to
opposing viewpoints on Ireland’s political future. On a
universal level, this policy violates Basket 111 Agreement of
the Helsinki Accords dealing with the free movement of people.
The NIFC believes an injustice
has been perpetrated on the American people, particularly,
Irish Americans. The NIFC will continue to challenge this
visa denial policy and asks those who believe in freedom of
expression and peace with justice in Ireland to join us in
this endeavor.
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