Justice Denied

More than three months have passed since the vicious murder of Belfast resident Robert McCartney by IRA thugs. Despite the heroic efforts of his five sisters, McCartney's killers have yet to be brought to justice. The main reason his murderers remain free is that witnesses refuse to come forward and testify due to the threat of IRA retaliation. Nevertheless, the McCartney sisters have bravely pressed ahead with their campaign, and are in the process of launching a civil suit against the killers.

The sisters have received worldwide acclaim for their courage, even meeting with President Bush at the White House on St. Patrick's Day. Unfortunately, this admiration is not shared by the IRA terrorists and their sympathizers, as this disgusting piece of news from CNN shows:

The family of a murdered Belfast man have been warned by police of threats to burn them out of their homes and businesses because of their attempts to bring his killers, including members of the IRA, to justice.

"We are shocked ... police intelligence has passed the information on and the way they have worded it is 'criminal elements' have threatened to burn down the McCartney sisters' homes and the sandwich bar," Paula McCartney told BBC radio on Friday.


The McCartney sisters have vowed to continue their campaign for justice, and my thoughts and prayers are with them. As for the IRA, it is nothing but a criminal organization cynically exploiting the grievances of Northern Ireland's Catholics to justify its own brutality. The IRA and its "loyalist" paramilitary counterparts must be disarmed if Northern Ireland is to truly have peace.