Sisters to meet Hillary Clinton in Washington

THE family of murdered father-of-two Robert McCartney is to meet US senator Hillary Clinton in Washington this week to step up political pressure on Sinn Féin and the IRA to force his killers into court.

Catherine McCartney, one of five sisters who have been campaigning along with Mr McCartney’s partner Bridgeen Hagans for justice for their brother’s murder, confirmed the family would be meeting the former US First Lady privately in Washington.

They will also be meeting Senator Edward Kennedy.

The family has also been invited to the St Patrick’s Day reception in the White House, where they will meet US President George W Bush and will hold talks with his adviser on the North, Ambassador Mitchell Reiss.

Catherine McCartney said: “We have lined up a number of meetings with politicians on the 16th and on St Patrick’s Day.

“We will meet Mitchell Reiss and then have arranged a private meeting with senators Kennedy and Clinton.

“We will also visit with an ad-hoc committee on human rights in Northern Ireland which has met people like Geraldine Finucane, the wife of Pat Finucane.

“Our focus during this visit is simply to get justice for Robert.

“But we will also be telling President Bush, the senators and congressmen that if we succeed in getting justice for my brother that will have an impact on other cases similar to ours.”

Sinn Féin and the IRA have been under intense pressure over the past six weeks since the murder to make those responsible face the allegations against them in court.

In a series of statements Mr Adams insisted that Sinn Féin is firmly behind the family’s quest for justice and truth.

But Mr Adams has stopped short of advising witnesses to go to the police because of his party’s reluctance to acknowledge the PSNI as a legitimate police service.

The McCartney family and police have, however, expressed concern about the lack of information coming from around 70 people who were in the bar despite the Sinn Féin leader’s appeal.

Catherine McCartney said the revelation that Ms Groogan was present in the bar also sent out mixed signals from Sinn Féin about their approach to the family’s appeal for justice.

“We are very clear that giving a statement to your solicitor to pass on to the Police Ombudsman is not really good enough,” she said. “Statements should be given directly to the police or the Police Ombudsman because they have the proper investigative skills.”