U.S. designates Real IRA a terrorist group

By Susan Falvella-Garraty

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The United States last week designated the Real IRA a terrorist organization and almost immediately a legal campaign was mounted against the action.

U.S. State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said that after consulting with Irish and British government officials, the U.S. determined that the Dundalk-based republican splinter group deserved banning.

"Since 1998 there has been a whole series of attacks," Boucher said. "The group remains active and continues to carry out attacks."

Boucher said the Provisional IRA remains off the list because it is the opinion of the American, Irish and British governments that their cease-fire remains intact "in word and deed."

The ban’s application to the 32-County Sovereignty Movement, the Real IRA’s political wing, and the Irish Republican Prisoners Welfare Association, means any assets could be frozen that are held in banks here. Individuals considered affiliated with the Real IRA will be refused visas to enter the U.S.

One longtime republican Irish American activist in New York, Martin Galvin, said he has already taken steps to fight the designation in court.

"The Bush administration will not take away Americans’ rights to free speech and free association and we are proceeding with legal efforts to remedy this ban," he said.

The naming of the Irish Republican Prisoners Welfare Association came as a bit of a surprise to some in the Irish-American community who see it as supporting families and not offering money for munitions. The announcement last Wednesday has long been sought by the British government and specifically called for by UUP leader David Trimble on his two visits to the Bush White House.

It is illegal for anyone in the United States to provide money to an organization known to support terrorist activities, so last week’s movement by the State Department is primarily a law enforcement support mechanism. Once designated, the United States Justice and Treasury departments become involved and offer their own investigating powers via the FBI and the Secret Service.

The Real IRA has 150 to 200 activists, the State Department said. Before leaving office last fall, President Clinton began the effort to ban the group. A Bush administration official disputed that claim, and said the announcement today was a result of a "personal decision" by Secretary of State Colin Powell.

"I don’t know what you are referring to," said Joseph Weep of the Anti-Terrorist office within the State Dept. "This process did not start during the last administration; the ban came because of requests from the Irish and British governments in January."

Irish government, former Clinton administration, and Justice Department officials dispute Weeps’s assertion that the ban was based solely on the work of the Bush administration.

The Irish and British governments first formally requested the Clinton administration put the Real IRA on the banned list Nov. 6, 2000. The action must be approved by the secretary of state in consultation with secretary of the treasury and the attorney general. Because it deprives Americans with certain rights and privileges ordinarily guarantee by law, a large body of evidence must be constructed to defend the actions in possible court challenges. It can take up from three to months to a year to amass such a case.

"This was a gift by the Bush Administration for David Trimble before entering an election he will likely loose," Galvin said. "Americans won’t stand for being muzzled. We have a right to say what we think, whether we support the Good Friday agreement or not."