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id: 84237date: 2006-11-03T12:58:00source: Embassy Dublinorigin:
06DUBLIN1284destination: VZCZCXRO8822 RR RUEHAG RUEHROV DE
RUEHDL
#1284/01 3071258 ZNY CCCCC ZZH R 031258Z NOV 06 FM AMEMBASSY
DUBLIN TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 7654 INFORUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES
RUEHBL/AMCONSUL BELFAST 0476RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELSclassification:
CONFIDENTIALreference: 06DUBLIN1020
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 DUBLIN 001284
SIPDIS
SIPDISE.O. 12958: DECL: 01/31/2015TAGS: PREL, PGOV, MARR, MOPS,
PREF Close cableC O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 DUBLIN
001284
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/31/2015TAGS: PREL, PGOV, MARR, MOPS, PREF,
EISUBJECT: THE AMBASSADOR AND FOREIGN MINISTER DISCUSSSHANNON,
NORTHERN IRELAND
REF: A. DUBLIN 1020
B. DUBLIN 1172C. STATE 172627
DUBLIN 00001284 001.2 OF 003
Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission Jonathan Benton;Reasons
1.4 (B)and (D).
1. (C) Summary. In a November 1 discussion, the Ambassador and
Foreign Minister Dermot Ahern did a tour
d'horizon of key bilateral issues. Ahern:
-- urged bilateral cooperation to avoid "surprises"regarding
U.S. military use of Shannon Airport;
-- noted that the Irish Cabinet had charged the Justice
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Minister to review legal loopholes used by the ShannonFive to
avoid prosecution for damaging a U.S. naval planein 2003;
-- said that he did not expect the Northern Ireland
Assembly to meet the November 24 deadline for nominatingan
Executive, due to the impasse on oath/policing issues;
-- expressed disappointment with the failure of NorthernIreland
parties to engage directly on follow-through forthe St. Andrews
Agreement; and,
-- observed that the Irish Government would continue tolobby the
USG to regularize the status of undocumentedIrish citizens resident
in the United States.
2. (C) The Ambassador:
-- noted appreciation for U.S. military use of Shannonand
offered the USG's best efforts to avoid missteps;
-- emphasized the goal of preventing future actions byIrish
protestors to disrupt U.S. operations at Shannon;
-- underscored continued USG support for the NorthernIreland
peace process;
-- expressed gratitude for the scheduled November 9extradition
of U.S. citizen Frederick Russell, butcautioned that failure to act
on other extraditionrequests could give Ireland the image of a
criminalhaven; and,
-- observed that movement on Irish concerns aboutundocumented
citizens in the United States would bedifficult. End summary.
Shannon-------
3. (C) In a November 1 introductory discussion with the
Ambassador, Foreign Minister Dermot Ahern urged bilateral
cooperation to avoid "surprises" regarding U.S. militaryuse of
Shannon Airport. Ahern recalled that the IrishParliament had
required him to explain previous U.S. pre-notification failures on
Shannon transits involving
weapons and U.S. military prisoners. He was alsoscheduled to
address the European Parliament shortly onallegations that Ireland
has assisted in extraordinaryrendition flights, which he planned to
rebuff on the
basis of previous USG assurances on the issue. Ahern
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conceded that the Irish Government was partly to blamefor
missteps at Shannon, as the Department ofTransport had not
previously sought full information onthe materiel/passengers in
transit -- a shortcoming thatIreland aimed to correct in the
context of global
terrorist threats.The Ambassador expressed appreciation for U.S.
militaryuse of Shannon, and he offered the USG's best efforts
toavoid missteps and to coordinate on any necessary
mediastrategy.
Ahern noted that the Embassy's public outreach to explainthe
June transit of a Marine prisoner had helped todiffuse public
criticism over the event.
4. (C) The Irish court decision to acquit five persons who had
damaged a U.S. naval plane at Shannon Airport in
2003 (the so-called "Shannon Five") had seriouslydisturbed the
Irish Government Cabinet, Ahern said (ref
A). He explained that while there were no means tooverturn the
jury decision, the Cabinet had requestedMinster for Justice Michael
McDowell to examine ways toclose off legal loopholes exploited by
defense lawyers(who argued that the defendants had sought to
preventloss of life in Iraq). The Ambassador emphasized the goalof
preventing future actions by Irish citizens to disruptU.S. military
operations at Shannon.
Ahern replied that airport security had been upgradedfollowing
the Shannon Five verdict and that the protest
movement appeared to be losing steam, as evident is asparsely
attended October 28 rally at Shannon.
DUBLIN 00001284 002.2 OF 003
Northern Ireland----------------
5. (C) Ahern said that he was "reasonably hopeful" aboutthe
prospects for follow-through on the St. Andrews
Agreement, but he did not expect the Northern Assembly to meet
by the November 24 deadline to nominate the First
Minister and Deputy First Minister, given the impasseover the
Executive oath on policing. Ahern judged thatunionists were
unreasonable to require a Sinn Fein pledgeon policing before the
party as a whole had authorizedthis step. On the other hand, Sinn
Fein had beenobstinate in declining to call a party conference
beforeNovember 24, observed Ahern. He added that a
furthercomplication in negotiations was Democratic Unionist
Party (DUP) reluctance to engage in face-to-facediscussions with
Sinn Fein on the policing/oath hurdle.
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This reluctance was a regression from late 2004, whenSinn Fein
and the DUP had substantive, direct contact inpursuit of a
devolution deal at that time. The Ambassadorunderscored continuing
USG willingness to support thepeace process in every possible
capacity.
6. (C) The Irish Government had no illusions thatprogress on
policing as part of the negotiations would be"tortuous," Ahern
observed. He recounted seriousdiscrimination by the former Royal
Ulster Constabulary(RUC) against nationalists across the border
from hishome county of Louth. He also took note of remarks by
DUPleader Nigel Dodds and others expressing reluctance toallow
"former terrorists" within the republican communityto participate
in policing and justice structures. Ahernpointed out that the
ill-fated 2004 agreement had pushedthe policing issue off to the
future and that partiesremained stalled on this point, although
Sinn Fein hadshown progress on policing cooperation over the
pastyear.
Other Key Issues-----------------
7. (C) The Ambassador and Ahern also discussed brieflythe
following issues:
A. Extradition. The expected November 9 extradition ofU.S.
citizen Frederick Russell demonstrated Irish
willingness to work through U.S. extradition requests,said Ahern
(ref B).He observed that the Irish Government was precluded from
lobbying the Irish judiciary on extradition issues,
making it imperative for U.S. federal/state justiceofficials to
satisfy the courts' requests for thorough,uniform documentation in
such cases. He added thatIreland had been innately reluctant to
transfer criminalsuspects to foreign jurisdictions, particularly in
the1970-80s when republicans involved in the NorthernIreland
Troubles would cross the border to evade Britishauthorities. The
Ambassador expressed gratitude for Irishaction on the Russell case,
but cautioned that failure toact on other extradition requests
could give Ireland theimage of a criminal haven.
B. Undocumented Irish. According to Ahern, Irishofficials would
continue to press the USG for measures toregularize the status of
up to 50,000 undocumented Irishresident in the United States, while
recognizing thatthis Irish segment was part of a larger picture
of
illegal immigration. He said that a recent proposal(floated by
Irish parliamentarian Tom Kitt) for a
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bilateral agreement that would ease mutualentry/residence
restrictions for Irish and U.S. nationalsdeserved consideration.
The Ambassador noted the
Administration's sensitivity to long-term undocumentedU.S.
residents who were contributing to their
communities, but he added that the Congress seemeddisinclined at
the moment to consider any form ofamnesty.
C. Cuba. Ahern committed to discuss with Deputy PrimeMinister
(Tanaiste) and Justice Minister, MichaelMcDowell, the USG request
for Ireland to resettle roughly30 Cuban migrants housed in
Guantanamo who weredetermined by DHS to have a well founded fear
ofpersecution (ref C). Ahern noted that Ireland hadrecently
coordinated with UNHCR to accept ten refugeesresident in Malta, who
had arrived as part of aburgeoning flow of African migrants into
southern EUMember States.
D. Lebanon. The Ambassador noted that 150 Irish troopshad
arrived in Lebanon on October 30 as part of theexpanded UNIFIL
force, and he expressed appreciation forIreland's contribution.
Ahern replied that Ireland'sexperience in UNIFIL and familiarity
with local Lebanesecommunities had obliged the Government to
contributetroops, even though the Taoiseach initially had
opposeddeployment in view of Irish
DUBLIN 00001284 003.2 OF 003
commitments to other UN peacekeeping operations.
E. IFI. The Irish Government, said Ahern, would lobbyCongress
for continued U.S. support of the InternationalFund for Ireland
(IFI), which would help to advance thegeneration-long process of
community reconciliation inNorthern Ireland and Irish border
counties. He citedBallymena in Northern Ireland as a community
riven bysectarianism, as seen in the recent murder of a
Catholicyouth and the reluctance of local unionist politicians
to
work with republican counterparts.
Participants------------
8. (SBU) In addition to Foreign Minister Ahern,
Irishparticipants included Department of Foreign Affairs
(DFA)Secretary General Dermot Gallagher and the Minister's
Special
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SIPDIS Advisor, Ciaran O Cuinn. On the U.S. side, the DCM
and
Pol/Econ Section Chief also took part.FOLEY Close cable
