17 July 1997 Edition

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Hevesi criticises Garvaghy decision

By Dennis M. Prebensen

``The message (the British government is sending) is: violence pays,'' said Alan Hevesi, the comptroller of the City of New York. ``Whomever threatens and delivers the most violence wins.''

Hevesi was speaking at a special briefing last Thursday afternoon in his office at City Hall, New York, following his return from a trip to Ireland and England to view the situation regarding loyalist marches, particularly on the Garvaghy Road, and to attend meetings on the MacBride Principles.

``I was dismayed and disappointed by the actions of the British government,'' he told an overflow crowd of Irish Americans in the boardroom.

Hevesi told the group that before he left, he felt that Mo Mowlam was acting ``in good faith'' to find a solution to the Drumcree parade and all the loyalists' marches. But commenting on the British reneging on a promise to notify the nationalists of their decision on the Garvaghy Road march he said, ``Now (good faith) is in question.''

The comptroller was accompanied on his trip by former NYC Police Commissioner William Bratten, and First Deputy Police Commissioner John Timoney. The three men traveled to the Garvaghy Road in Portadown as part of a group of international human rights observers.

Commenting on the decision to force the march through the Garvaghy Road without consultation with the residents, Hevesi declared, ``it's the worst decision that could have been made. It really damages the peace effort.''

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