Embassy Row

Ireland’s appeal

Irish Foreign Minister Dermot Ahern this week appealed to the White House and Congress to help salvage the tattered Northern Ireland peace process, dealt a critical blow yesterday by a report that tied political supporters of the Irish Republican Army to a major bank robbery.

The report by the Independent Monitoring Commission, which oversees a cease-fire in Northern Ireland, said senior members of Sinn Fein, the political wing of the IRA, approved the Dec. 20 theft of $50 million at the headquarters of the Northern Bank in Belfast. The report pinned the robbery on IRA guerrillas and said Sinn Fein leaders knew of other robberies by the IRA last year.

Mr. Ahern, speaking at an Irish Embassy reception Wednesday evening, was worried that the report could further erode Washington’s confidence in the peace process, which has been faltering for two years.

“I am here at a time that is absolutely critical for our peace process,” he said. “I am here to impress on the power brokers of Washington to continue to be involved in the peace process.”

Before he left Dublin, Mr. Ahern also was concerned that President Bush might decline to invite Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams to the annual White House St. Patrick’s Day reception, while extending invitations to other political leaders of Northern Ireland.

At the embassy reception, Mr. Ahern said he had discussed the St. Patrick’s Day celebration with Mitchell Reiss, the White House special envoy for Northern Ireland, and with members of Congress. Mr. Reiss had told him the decision is “still under review,” Mr. Ahern said.

Asked whether he specifically had urged the administration to invite Mr. Adams, the foreign minister replied, “It is not for me to dictate to the White House whom to invite.”

Mr. Ahern is scheduled to return to Washington for St. Patrick’s Day with Prime Minister Bertie Ahern. (The two men are not related.)

The monitoring commission report could put pressure on the White House to refuse to allow Mr. Adams at the annual Irish-American reception.

The report said, “In our view Sinn Fein must bear its share of responsibility for all the incidents. Some of its senior members, who are also senior members of the IRA, were involved in sanctioning the series of robberies.”

In Belfast, Mr. Adams dismissed the report as “rubbish.”

The State Department earlier this week criticized the IRA for refusing to continue turning in its weapons, as required under the 1998 Good Friday accords that created the Northern Ireland Assembly and promoted power sharing between Catholic and Protestant political parties in the British province. The accords also provided for the Republic of Ireland to cooperate with the British government to promote peace in Northern Ireland.

Britain suspended the assembly two years ago, after reports of IRA spying on the executive branch of the government of Northern Ireland.

The IRA declared a cease-fire in 1997 after about 30 years of fighting to unite Northern Ireland with the Irish republic.

Syrian summoned

The State Department this week warned Syrian Ambassador Imad Moustapha that his government must stop terrorists from crossing into Iraq from Syria and end support for Palestinian militants.

The department also hinted that the United States would apply new sanctions on Syria if it defies Washington, Reuters news agency reported, quoting an unidentified State Department official.

The official told Mr. Moustapha: “You’ve got to move quickly, and you’ve got to move definitively, and it’s probably going to take something big to forestall some very unpalatable options.”

The Bush administration imposed a number of economic sanctions on Syria in May, and new measures could prohibit U.S. banks from dealing with the country.

A spokesman for the Syrian Embassy would not confirm the State Department meeting but told Reuters that the ambassador holds frequent talks with department officials, especially on “cooperation in regards to security issues.”

• Call Embassy Row at 202/636-3297, fax 202/832-7278 or e-mail jmorrison@washingtontimes.com.