McCartney family makes fresh appeal for witnesses

The sister of murdered Belfast father of two Robert McCartney tonight issued a fresh appeal for witnesses to come forward.

The sister of murdered Belfast father of two Robert McCartney tonight issued a fresh appeal for witnesses to come forward.

Following the release last night of another suspect, Catherine McCartney spoke of her family's frustration that intense political pressure to get the killers to appear in court was not being matched by eyewitnesses coming forward to the police.

Speaking after another family meeting with Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams, she said: "Things are frustrating right now. There seems to be an awful lot of political activity but very little is happening on the ground despite all the appeals that have been made in recent days.

"There has to be more tangible evidence for the investigation to go to court. Our family's bottom line is that the people responsible for murdering Robert have to appear in court. The only way that will be done is people on the ground coming forward."

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Sinn Fein and the IRA have been under intense pressure during the past month over Robert McCartney's brutal murder on January 30th outside Magennis's Bar in Belfast city centre.

The IRA expelled three of their members for their role in the killing after the family alleged their brother's murderers were being shielded by the organisation and witnesses were also being intimidated. The IRA also offered to shoot those involved, an offer declined by the family.

Sinn Fein has also suspended seven members, with Mr Adams passing their names to a solicitor to hand over to Northern Ireland's Police Ombudsman Nuala O'Loan.

International interest in the McCartney family's campaign for justice is also beginning to pick up, with the sisters scheduled to appear live on CNN when they visit Washington next week.

With American interest high, Sinn Fein will be anxious to ensure its standing with Irish America is not damaged as the McCartneys prepare to take their case directly to the White House, Capitol Hill and on coast to coast news programmes.

In a savage Boston Globeeditorial today the Republican Movement was compared to the Corleone family in Francis Ford Coppola's gangster movie, The Godfatherand urged to disband the IRA publicly and irrevocably.