The United Nations Commissioner for Human Rights, Mrs Mary Robinson, has offered help to relatives of the three Irishmen held for six months in custody in Colombia, it has emerged.
The involvement behind the scenes of the UN Commissioner comes as preparations continue for a visit next week by the former Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr David Andrews.
Mr Niall Connolly, Mr James Monaghan and Mr Martin McCauley were transferred late on Thursday to La Picota, a high-security jail in Bogota. They were moved hurriedly from the same jail a month ago into a temporary police holding centre elsewhere in the capital after a gun was found in a nearby cell.
A campaigner on their behalf, Ms Caitriona Ruane, said the return to La Picota followed action by the men's Colombian lawyers, who argued that long-term detention in a holding centre was illegal.
"They will not be locked up for 23 hours and they may be entitled to education, things like that. But there is no safe place for them in Colombia," she told The Irish Times.
Mr Andrews will travel to the Colombian capital Bogota next Saturday for a week-long trip financed by supporters of the three. It is hoped that Mr Andrews will meet a number of leading political figures, though not the President, Mr Andres Pastrana. He also hopes to visit the men and to observe conditions under which they are being detained.
It is understood that the UN Commissioner, the International Red Cross and the Irish Embassy in Mexico are helping to arrange contacts for Mr Andrews.
Last night, a spokesman for Mrs Robinson's Geneva office refused to reveal her attitude to the case. "This matter would be the subject of confidential discussions," Mr Jose Luis Diaz said.
The three men were arrested at Bogota airport on August and accused of training members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerilla movement. Despite six months in custody, the men have not yet been charged with any offence. Supporters argue that they can never get a fair trail in Colombia.
A concert held in Dublin late last year raised £20,000 for the campaign, though much of this money has since been spent funding visits by family members to Colombia. In addition, campaigners brought Colombian lawyers to Ireland to interview witnesses who dispute the Colombian authorities' claim that the men were frequent visitors.
Mr Andrews, who has spoken about his visit with the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, yesterday met some of Mr Connolly's relatives, who are his constituents.
The visit would, he hoped, help to improve conditions for the three men, who have often been held in solitary confinement for 23 hours a day since their arrest.
"A lot of people are trying to arrange meetings for me. I hope to meet a number of senior political figures," Mr Andrews, who is chairman of the Irish branch of the Red Cross, said.
The Dún Laoghaire TD was an influential campaigner on behalf of the Birmingham Six, Guildford Four and other Irish prisoners in British jails during the 1980s.
Ms Ruane and Ms Síle Maguire, an official with the Irish Embassy in Mexico, will join him next week. Embassy officials have travelled to Colombia five times to visit the men since their arrest.
Meanwhile the Colombian government and its largest guerrilla group broke off peace talks without reaching an agreement on any agenda item, government peace commissioner Mr Camilo Gomez said yesterday.
FARC has abandoned negotiations in the second and final scheduled day after the two sides reached an impasse over the issue of military patrols on the perimeter of the guerrilla haven where the talks were taking place.
Mr Gomez said FARC negotiators left the table for consultations. He hoped talks either tomorrow or Monday. - (AFP)
