Madam, - Your Editorial of December 2nd states: "If the release of the [ killers of Garda Jerry McCabe] is a make-or-break point in the deal in Northern Ireland - and Mr Ahern says it is - then it can be justified".
So, in essence, when we negotiate with terrorists they set the ground rules.
The Editorial later expands on this principle: "... And any new deal is likely to include an amnesty for IRA members on the run".
This week has seen the conviction of two IRA men with very close connections to a sitting TD. Are they too going to be released? (They were just unfortunate enough to get caught. Logically, they should get the same treatment as their more evasive comrades.)
You then invoke the argument of the "greater good". There is a glaring issue here. Sinn Féin and the IRA have not shown any willingness to reform and cease paramilitary, racketeering and subversive activities. They still spy on democratically-elected representatives and carry out punishment beatings. They do this because the Government has never said No.
The "greater good" will cause the Irish people to be humiliated by Sinn Féin again. There will be no cessation until the Government shows backbone.
I expect no better from Fianna Fáil, but I do expect higher standards from the Editorial of a paper of record. - Yours, etc.,
MARK McGRAIL,
Verschoyle Avenue,
Dublin 24.
Madam, - It is regrettable that your Editorial of December 2nd finds no fault with the Taoiseach's announcement concerning the release of Garda McCabe's killers.
The separate electorates on both sides of the Border overwhelmingly accepted the terms of the Good Friday Agreement in the interest of peace on this island. They did so in the full knowledge that those terms distastefully included the early release from prison of individuals from both sides of the communal divide who had been found guilty of both targeted and indiscriminate horror killings in pursuit of their respective aims.
However, they were not asked to agree to the early release of anyone who would be imprisoned subsequently for similar future offences in pursuit of claimed same aims. That is to say, the Good Friday Agreement did not give carte blanche to such people to go forth and continue to commit murder in the future with impunity.
Garda Jerry McCabe was murdered and his colleague was seriously wounded after the referendums and the Good Friday Agreement. Those offences were, therefore, not covered by the terms of the Agreement, and the former minister for justice, Mr O'Donoghue, is on record as affirming that. The current Minister, Mr McDowell, is similarly on record, though with some ambiguity. Moreover, the IRA initially denied the killers were acting in their interests when they embarked on armed robbery and wanton killing.
The Irish Government is one of the lead parties seeking to complete the implementation of the Good Friday Agreement. It can only do so in accordance with the terms of the Agreement approved by the electorates. As announced by the Taoiseach, it now intends to act outside those terms, much to the visible discomfiture of Mr O'Donoghue when the announcement was made.
Even if the Government were prepared to seek an amendment of the Agreement to deal with the difficulty it faces in this regard, this would give unionist parties the opportunity to insist that other aspects of the Agreement should also be renegotiated.
Furthermore, given that the murder of Garda McCabe cannot find mitigation under the Agreement, the Taoiseach's announcement raises serious concern at the prospect of the Government seeking to interfere with a prison term imposed by the court.
However, you, Madam, do not have to operate under similar constraints, should you wish to put the position adopted in your Editorial to an independent poll of public opinion. - Yours, etc.,
G.J. HEGARTY,
Swinford,
Co Mayo.
A Chara, - If Sinn Féin is demanding the release of the killers of Garda Jerry McCabe under the terms of a peace settlement, surely the least we can expect from Mr Adams is an explanation as to how exactly the vicious murder of an Irish nationalist in Limerick furthered the cause of freedom for the Six Counties? I don't recall voting for an agreement which included a blanket amnesty for all members of an organisation, regardless of their crime. - Is mise,
DAVID CARROLL,
Castle Gate,
Dublin 2.