5 September 2002 Edition
Walk in aid of Colombia Three
On Sunday 1 September, several hundred people gathered outside Davey's Pub near Omeath to take part in a walk in support of three Irishmen who are being held in jail in Colombia.
Sinn Féin Assembly member Gerry Kelly and TD Arthur Morgan, along with Sinn Féin councillor Davy Hyland and writer Danny Morrison, led the walkers on the first stage of the journey across the Cooley Mountain and Flagstaff viewpoint.
Before setting off on the walk, Gerry Kelly outlined the background to the arrest and detention of the three men.
"The three men detained in Colombia are republicans," he said. "They are being held on the word of a witness who cannot be identified and in fact has now mysteriously disappeared and will not attend the court case. Republicans are all too familiar with miscarriages of justice and it is obvious that these men will not receive a fair trial in a country which is involved in human rights abuse of its own citizens.
"Despite media speculation and unsubstantiated allegations, the only real charge against them is that there are irregularities in their documentation. The case presented against them is completely flawed and would be thrown out of any fair-minded court. They should be released and sent home at once."
On Tuesday, Gerry Kelly accused First Minister David Trimble of "deliberately prejudicing the right to a fair trial of the three men". He was responding to media reports that David Trimble has discussed the trial with the Colombian Vice President while in South Africa in his official capacity for the UN World Summit.
"For Trimble to use this visit to promote the partisan politics of the Ulster Unionist Party in order to undermine the peace process and to interfere in the upcoming trial is appalling," said Kelly.
Sinn Féin Assembly member Gerry Kelly and TD Arthur Morgan, along with Sinn Féin councillor Davy Hyland and writer Danny Morrison, led the walkers on the first stage of the journey across the Cooley Mountain and Flagstaff viewpoint.
Before setting off on the walk, Gerry Kelly outlined the background to the arrest and detention of the three men.
"The three men detained in Colombia are republicans," he said. "They are being held on the word of a witness who cannot be identified and in fact has now mysteriously disappeared and will not attend the court case. Republicans are all too familiar with miscarriages of justice and it is obvious that these men will not receive a fair trial in a country which is involved in human rights abuse of its own citizens.
"Despite media speculation and unsubstantiated allegations, the only real charge against them is that there are irregularities in their documentation. The case presented against them is completely flawed and would be thrown out of any fair-minded court. They should be released and sent home at once."
On Tuesday, Gerry Kelly accused First Minister David Trimble of "deliberately prejudicing the right to a fair trial of the three men". He was responding to media reports that David Trimble has discussed the trial with the Colombian Vice President while in South Africa in his official capacity for the UN World Summit.
"For Trimble to use this visit to promote the partisan politics of the Ulster Unionist Party in order to undermine the peace process and to interfere in the upcoming trial is appalling," said Kelly.