Call to Action – Finucane full, public, judicial inquiry

November 22, 2020

Sisters,

I have been asked by President Keane to contact you regarding this call to action. We need all members to contact their Congressional representative immediately and request that they sign on to the Congressional letter to Boris Johnson which is available by selecting this link. The bipartisan letter was drafted by Chris Smith-R and Richie Neal-D at the request of the AOH and is fully supported by the LAOH. It will be sent to Prime Minister Boris Johnson urging him to establish an “independent public inquiry into state collusion in the murder of human rights attorney Patrick Finucane at his home in Belfast in front of his wife and children on February 12, 1989.”  We are asking all members to contact their representative by Tuesday, November 24, and ask their representative to sign the letter by Wednesday November 25.

To locate your Congressional Representative, go to https://www.house.gov/representatives and search for your Representative. Click their name on the list and you will be directed to their webpage where you can find their contact information. From there you can write a request and ask them to sign the bipartisan letter.  If you can attach the bipartisan letter from Congressmen Neal and Smith, please do so. Also, leave your contact information and request a confirmation. Here is a sample request which you may want to use, however feel free to write your own request. 

Dear Congressman/Congresswoman <name>

I know you are a strong supporter of human rights and may be familiar with the murder of solicitor Pat Finucane in Belfast 1989 in front of his family as they were eating Sunday dinner. The peace resulting from the Good Friday Agreement in 1998 is welcomed, however the lack of justice for many families, including Pat’s needs to be rectified. In Mr. Finucane’s case, several investigations uncovered State collusion. In 2012, Prime Minister David Cameron apologized publicly to the Finucane family in the House of Commons. The prime minister acknowledged there had been “shocking levels of collusion” in what was one of the most controversial killings of the Troubles. “I am deeply sorry,” he told the Finucane family, who were in the Commons gallery to hear his statement. However, he said he “respectfully disagreed” with the demand for a full, independent public inquiry, citing the cost of the Bloody Sunday tribunal as one reason. This is unacceptable. I am asking you to please sign the bipartisan letter to Prime Minister Johnson which is authored by Congressmen Christopher Smith and Richie Neal by Wednesday November 25 as the letter is due to be sent to the Prime Minister this week. For more information please contact (here you need to base the content on whether you rep is Republican or Democrat – Please direct Republican members of Congress to Congressman Christopher Smith’s office for the sign on letter at (202) 225-3765; Mary.mcdnoonan@mail.house.gov (Smith); Christian.henniger@mail.house.gov (Smith)

Democratic Members of Congress should be directed to Congressman Richard Neal’s office for the sign on letter at Congressman Neal-Democrat- office at (202) 225-5601, William.tranghese@mail.house.gov (Neal)) . Your support for this letter means so much to the Irish community. Thank you.

We are asking you for a few minutes of your time to help the Finucane family in their quest for justice. If possible, please contact your Representative at both their local office and Washington DC office. If you can talk to a Member of Congress directly, please do so. 

Last week we were on a Zoom call with John Finucane MP, Pat Finucane’s son who advised us that the family are waiting for a response due by November 30 from the British Secretary of State regarding their request for a full, public, judicial inquiry. Over the past 31 years, multiple investigations into the death of Pat Finucane pointed to State collaboration with loyalist gunmen. In 2012, Prime Minister David Cameron apologized publicly to the Finucane family in the House of Commons. The prime minister acknowledged there had been “shocking levels of collusion” in what was one of the most controversial killings of the Troubles. “I am deeply sorry,” he told the Finucane family, who were in the Commons gallery to hear his statement. However, he said he “respectfully disagreed” with the demand for a full, independent public inquiry, citing the cost of the Bloody Sunday tribunal as one reason.

Geraldine Finucane, widow of Pat Finucane and her children have spent the last 31 years actively working to uncover the truth behind the murder of her husband. Multiple investigations commissioned by the UK government have pointed to security force collusion.  Now is the time for a full, public, judicial inquiry to establish the full scale of security force collusion in the murder of Pat Finucane. 

Please help us help them by taking a few minutes to contact your member of Congress and requesting that they sign on to the attached bipartisan letter. Our goal is to contact all members of congress over the next two days. Thank you for your immediate attention to this critical issue and for your commitment to justice for the Finucane family.

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/parties-unite-call-pat-finucane-144345812.html?guccounter=1

Le Meas,

Dolores Desch

Freedom For All Ireland Chairperson