Ahern calls for criminality end after murder

THE murder of Belfast man Robert McCartney shows why paramilitarism and criminality need to end, Bertie Ahern said yesterday.

Martin McGuinness last night called for people with information on the killing of the 32-year-old father-of-two to come forward, but Sinn Féin’s chief negotiator again did not recommend that witnesses go directly to the police.

Sinn Féin is under pressure to assist the investigation after Mr McCartney’s family accused republicans of shielding the killers - believed to be members of the IRA. The identities of the killers are widely known but no witnesses have come forward because of IRA intimidation.

Investigating PSNI detectives, frustrated by a wall of silence surrounding the alleged IRA murder, are now waiting to see if the appeal by Mr McGuinness, following an appeal by Gerry Adams, will help them capture the killers.

Amid intensifying pressure on the republican movement over the death of the 33-year-old forklift driver, the Sinn Féin leadership is now asking anyone who knows anything about the stabbing of Mr McCartney during a pub brawl to alert the victim’s family.

“It should not have happened and there must be no cover-up. It is very important nobody is under any illusions about where we in Sinn Féin stand on this. What is important now is that the family get the peace and justice they are seeking,” Mr McGuinness said.

Welcoming the Sinn Féin appeals, the Taoiseach said the killing underlines the need for paramilitarism to be addressed. The activities of the IRA were more serious from the perspective of the nationalist community than bank raids, because more people are affected, Mr Ahern said.

“That is the reason why we need an end to criminality and I agree with that because it is not a question about money or about petrol. It’s about stabbing to death. It’s far worse.

Describing the death as a “Tony Soprano-style killing”, Labour leader Pat Rabbitte said the killing reiterated the need for the British and Irish governments to break the grip Republican paramilitaries have over communities in Northern Ireland.

“Isn’t that, Taoiseach, a reason alone, this Tony Soprano-style killing, for the democratic parties and the two governments to break the power of the Republican movement in controlling paramilitary activity even when not on an officially sanctioned job?” he said.