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18 February 2005



Ulster Bank Robbery Suspects Have IRA Ties

On December 20 of last year, the largest bank robbery in the history of Northern Ireland brought £26.5 million to the crooks. The gang had taken the families of two officers of the Northern Bank of Belfast hostage, and then forced the bankers to open the vaults. Yesterday, Irish police busted 7 people for the crime, seizing more than £10 million. While their identities have yet to come out in public, newspapers in Eire and Ulster claim at least one is a former elected official from Sinn Fein, the IRA’s political wing. If so, this should guarantee political gridlock in Northern Ireland for a long time.

Criminal activity, robberies and drug dealing mainly, have been the main source of funds for terrorists on both sides of the divide in Ulster for quite some time. In this, they are similar to those in the Middle East who kill using money from opium. However, the Northern Bank robbery put other such crimes to shame given its size. In a place where political extremists engage in robbery as a matter of course, it is no surprise that the Irish Republican Army got the blame before any proof turned up.

What came as more of a surprise were the comments the president of Sinn Fein, Gerry Adams, MP made on Spanish radio the day before the arrests. While in Iberia flogging his memoirs, he put out a statement in which he said the following "No one knows who robbed the bank. An opinion has been given that the IRA was involved. The IRA has said it was not involved and I believe it. Now maybe I'm wrong, but I believe it. What I can say categorically is that Sinn Fein was not involved."

Other parties in Ulster fell on the “Maybe I’m wrong . . .” bit to suggest he was trying to get himself some wiggle room. He has subsequently denied that was what he meant. He was much clearer when he said “Sinn Fein was not involved.” Except now, it looks like at least one member of the gang was a member of Sinn Fein. Which would make Mr. Adams either a liar or a dupe. In either case, it is bad for the political peace.

If Sinn Fein does have ties to the bank robbery, the hardliners in the unionist camp have absolutely no reason to continue working with Mr. Adams or anyone else from the group. If Mr. Adams has lied, his resignation and replacement would speed things along, but not enough for anything positive to happen this year. If he was duped by others, then the question the Orangemen have to ask is whether he speaks for the republican side at all – could he deliver in a crunch? This one won’t be resolved on Good Friday.


© Copyright 2005 by The Kensington Review, J. Myhre, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent.

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