Adams declines to attend congress hearing

Gerry Adams has announced he will not attend a congressional hearing on links between republicans and Colombian rebels.

In a letter to the chairman of the US House of Representatives International Relations Committee, the Sinn Fein leader says he is not going to attend the hearings because of legal concerns.

US congressmen had wanted to question Mr Adams about the arrests in Colombia last August of three Irishmen - Niall Connolly, James Monaghan and Martin McCauley.

In a four-page letter to Congressman Henry Hyde, Mr Adams said: "I am concerned that my attendance at the International Relations Hearing may impact on due legal process in Colombia."

The three Irishmen are currently awaiting trial in Colombia for travelling on false passports and for allegedly training Marxist Farc rebels.

Mr Adams said in his letter he appreciated the work of the US House of Representatives' international relations committee and its right to hold hearings on any issues relevant to American national interest.

He added: "Although this is not your responsibility or intention, I am particularly concerned at the way anti-peace process elements in Britain and Ireland have seized upon the hearings to damage the peace process itself.

"I also have serious concerns about the arrest of the three Irish citizens in Colombia and the way these arrests are being brought into a wider agenda in that region.

"Not only does their detention by the Colombian authorities constitute a possible miscarriage of justice, but their arrests are undoubtedly being used to undermine Sinn Fein's contribution to the peace process in Ireland and our efforts to advance it further."