The US Senate has passed a resolution condemning IRA violence and criminality and expressing support for the sisters of murdered Belfast man Robert McCartney in their pursuit of justice.
Initiated by Senator Ted Kennedy, the resolution calls on the Sinn Féin leadership to insist that those responsible for the murder co-operate with the PSNI.
Meanwhile, Gerry Adams protested that Sinn Féin was being unfairly condemned for the McCartney killing. "There's politics in this," he said at Washington's National Press Club on Thursday.
"I have asked why there has been no identity parade, why, when a key witness came forward on Monday, he was told there was nobody there to interview him, and why another key suspect was told the same thing? I can't imagine another situation where, if there was a high-profile murder like this one, a chief suspect would come forward and be told to come back another day."
PSNI chief constable Hugh Orde, also visiting Washington, defended his force's handling of the investigation. "I think the public understand the difference between intelligence and evidence," he told BBC Radio Ulster. "I think the public are ahead of us on this. They know very well that we need a case to put to people."
He said questioning someone who would then exercise their right to silence would "not develop the case. We know, we are the professionals, not Sinn Féin, not Provisional IRA."
The Senate resolution, supported by Senators John McCain, Chris Dodd, Joe Biden, Pat Leahy, Hillary Clinton and Frank Lautenberg, calls on the leaders of Sinn Féin to insist that those responsible for the murder of Robert McCartney co-operate with the PSNI and to refrain from resorting to vigilante justice. It notes that the McCartney sisters "refused to accept the code of silence" and bravely challenged the IRA by demanding justice.
It condemns the IRA's "outrageous" statement in which it said it "was willing to shoot the killers of Robert McCartney". The resolution also urges the US government to offer "all appropriate assistance to law enforcement authorities in Northern Ireland to see that the murderers of Robert McCartney are brought to justice".
On Thursday, President Bush told the sisters he was "100 per cent" behind their campaign.
In a statement Senator Kennedy said: "It is time for the IRA to fully decommission its weapons, end all criminal activity, and cease to exist as a paramilitary organisation, and it is time for Sinn Féin to achieve the respect it aspires to as a legitimate political party."
Mr Adams visited Cleveland yesterday at the end of his week-long visit to the US, during which he was snubbed by President Bush and Senator Kennedy.