Yahoo! News.
October, 23 2001.
BELFAST, Northern Ireland (AP) - The political party associated with the
Irish Republican Army admitted Monday that a man arrested in Colombia was its
representative in Cuba, reversing repeated earlier denials.
The Sinn Fein representative, Niall Connolly, was one of three people
arrested in Colombia in August on suspicion of training rebels of the
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC. The Cuban government had
identified Connolly as a Sinn Fein official, but the party had denied it.
Gerry Adams, president of Sinn Fein, has acknowledged that one of the other
men, James Monaghan, used to sit on Sinn Fein's executive committee. British and
Irish police say Monaghan is the IRA's "director of education'' responsible
for developing new weapons and training IRA members in their use.
Adams said Connolly had been appointed to his post in Cuba by a senior party
member.
"This decision was taken without the knowledge or authorization of the
international department or any other party structure including the party
chairperson or myself,'' Adams told reporters.
"Niall Connolly, for his part, acted in good faith in his dealings with
the Cuban government and in lobbying and information activities. I regret and
apologize for the embarrassment caused by our initial response to the issue of
Niall's role.''
Adams did not say what Connolly was doing in Colombia. He again asserted
that Connolly, Monaghan and the third detainee, Martin McCauley, had "no
case to answer'' - meaning they were not guilty of any crime.
The three men gave differing reasons during interrogation for why they were
in Colombia, ranging from tourism to discussing politics with the rebels. They
also offered conflicting explanations for why they all had false passports.
On Sept. 11, the U.S. State Department official charged with monitoring
Northern Ireland's peace process, Richard Haass, warned Adams that the IRA must
cease all contact with the FARC.
Colombia has been fighting the FARC and other leftist guerrillas for 37
years, and the conflict kills about 3,000 people annually.
The United States provides helicopters and troop training to help the
government fight cocaine and heroin production linked to the rebels. | 
