THE AMBASSADOR AND FOREIGN MINISTER DISCUSS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 DUBLIN 001284 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/31/2015 TAGS: PREL PGOV MARR MOPS PREF EI SUBJECT: THE AMBASSADOR AND FOREIGN MINISTER DISCUSS SHANNON, NORTHERN IRELAND REF: A. DUBLIN 1020 ¶B. DUBLIN 1172 ¶C. STATE 172627 DUBLIN 00001284 001.2 OF 003 Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission Jonathan Benton; Reasons 1.4 (B) and (D). ¶1. (C) Summary. In a November 1 discussion, the Ambassador and Foreign Minister Dermot Ahern did a tour d'horizon of key bilateral issues. Ahern: -- urged bilateral cooperation to avoid "surprises" regarding U.S. military use of Shannon Airport; -- noted that the Irish Cabinet had charged the Justice Minister to review legal loopholes used by the Shannon Five to avoid prosecution for damaging a U.S. naval plane in 2003; -- said that he did not expect the Northern Ireland Assembly to meet the November 24 deadline for nominating an Executive, due to the impasse on oath/policing issues; -- expressed disappointment with the failure of Northern Ireland parties to engage directly on follow-through for the St. Andrews Agreement; and, -- observed that the Irish Government would continue to lobby the USG to regularize the status of undocumented Irish citizens resident in the United States. ¶2. (C) The Ambassador: -- noted appreciation for U.S. military use of Shannon and offered the USG's best efforts to avoid missteps; -- emphasized the goal of preventing future actions by Irish protestors to disrupt U.S. operations at Shannon; -- underscored continued USG support for the Northern Ireland peace process; -- expressed gratitude for the scheduled November 9 extradition of U.S. citizen Frederick Russell, but cautioned that failure to act on other extradition requests could give Ireland the image of a criminal haven; and, -- observed that movement on Irish concerns about undocumented citizens in the United States would be difficult. End summary. Shannon -------------- ¶3. (C) In a November 1 introductory discussion with the Ambassador, Foreign Minister Dermot Ahern urged bilateral cooperation to avoid "surprises" regarding U.S. military use of Shannon Airport. Ahern recalled that the Irish Parliament had required him to explain previous U.S. pre-notification failures on Shannon transits involving weapons and U.S. military prisoners. He was also scheduled to address the European Parliament shortly on allegations that Ireland has assisted in extraordinary rendition flights, which he planned to rebuff on the basis of previous USG assurances on the issue. Ahern conceded that the Irish Government was partly to blame for missteps at Shannon, as the Department of Transport had not previously sought full information on the materiel/passengers in transit -- a shortcoming that Ireland aimed to correct in the context of global terrorist threats. The Ambassador expressed appreciation for U.S. military use of Shannon, and he offered the USG's best efforts to avoid missteps and to coordinate on any necessary media strategy. Ahern noted that the Embassy's public outreach to explain the June transit of a Marine prisoner had helped to diffuse public criticism over the event. ¶4. (C) The Irish court decision to acquit five persons who had damaged a U.S. naval plane at Shannon Airport in 2003 (the so-called "Shannon Five") had seriously disturbed the Irish Government Cabinet, Ahern said (ref A). He explained that while there were no means to overturn the jury decision, the Cabinet had requested Minster for Justice Michael McDowell to examine ways to close off legal loopholes exploited by defense lawyers (who argued that the defendants had sought to prevent loss of life in Iraq). The Ambassador emphasized the goal of preventing future actions by Irish citizens to disrupt U.S. military operations at Shannon. Ahern replied that airport security had been upgraded following the Shannon Five verdict and that the protest movement appeared to be losing steam, as evident is a sparsely attended October 28 rally at Shannon. DUBLIN 00001284 002.2 OF 003 Northern Ireland -------------- ¶5. (C) Ahern said that he was "reasonably hopeful" about the prospects for follow-through on the St. Andrews Agreement, but he did not expect the Northern Assembly to meet by the November 24 deadline to nominate the First Minister and Deputy First Minister, given the impasse over the Executive oath on policing. Ahern judged that unionists were unreasonable to require a Sinn Fein pledge on policing before the party as a whole had authorized this step. On the other hand, Sinn Fein had been obstinate in declining to call a party conference before November 24, observed Ahern. He added that a further complication in negotiations was Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) reluctance to engage in face-to-face discussions with Sinn Fein on the policing/oath hurdle. This reluctance was a regression from late 2004, when Sinn Fein and the DUP had substantive, direct contact in pursuit of a devolution deal at that time. The Ambassador underscored continuing USG willingness to support the peace process in every possible capacity. ¶6. (C) The Irish Government had no illusions that progress on policing as part of the negotiations would be "tortuous," Ahern observed. He recounted serious discrimination by the former Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) against nationalists across the border from his home county of Louth. He also took note of remarks by DUP leader Nigel Dodds and others expressing reluctance to allow "former terrorists" within the republican community to participate in policing and justice structures. Ahern pointed out that the ill-fated 2004 agreement had pushed the policing issue off to the future and that parties remained stalled on this point, although Sinn Fein had shown progress on policing cooperation over the past year. Other Key Issues -------------- ¶7. (C) The Ambassador and Ahern also discussed briefly the following issues: ¶A. Extradition. The expected November 9 extradition of U.S. citizen Frederick Russell demonstrated Irish willingness to work through U.S. extradition requests, said Ahern (ref B). He observed that the Irish Government was precluded from lobbying the Irish judiciary on extradition issues, making it imperative for U.S. federal/state justice officials to satisfy the courts' requests for thorough, uniform documentation in such cases. He added that Ireland had been innately reluctant to transfer criminal suspects to foreign jurisdictions, particularly in the 1970-80s when republicans involved in the Northern Ireland Troubles would cross the border to evade British authorities. The Ambassador expressed gratitude for Irish action on the Russell case, but cautioned that failure to act on other extradition requests could give Ireland the image of a criminal haven. ¶B. Undocumented Irish. According to Ahern, Irish officials would continue to press the USG for measures to regularize the status of up to 50,000 undocumented Irish resident in the United States, while recognizing that this Irish segment was part of a larger picture of illegal immigration. He said that a recent proposal (floated by Irish parliamentarian Tom Kitt) for a bilateral agreement that would ease mutual entry/residence restrictions for Irish and U.S. nationals deserved consideration. The Ambassador noted the Administration's sensitivity to long-term undocumented U.S. residents who were contributing to their communities, but he added that the Congress seemed disinclined at the moment to consider any form of amnesty. ¶C. Cuba. Ahern committed to discuss with Deputy Prime Minister (Tanaiste) and Justice Minister, Michael McDowell, the USG request for Ireland to resettle roughly 30 Cuban migrants housed in Guantanamo who were determined by DHS to have a well founded fear of persecution (ref C). Ahern noted that Ireland had recently coordinated with UNHCR to accept ten refugees resident in Malta, who had arrived as part of a burgeoning flow of African migrants into southern EU Member States. ¶D. Lebanon. The Ambassador noted that 150 Irish troops had arrived in Lebanon on October 30 as part of the expanded UNIFIL force, and he expressed appreciation for Ireland's contribution. Ahern replied that Ireland's experience in UNIFIL and familiarity with local Lebanese communities had obliged the Government to contribute troops, even though the Taoiseach initially had opposed deployment in view of Irish DUBLIN 00001284 003.2 OF 003 commitments to other UN peacekeeping operations. ¶E. IFI. The Irish Government, said Ahern, would lobby Congress for continued U.S. support of the International Fund for Ireland (IFI),which would help to advance the generation-long process of community reconciliation in Northern Ireland and Irish border counties. He cited Ballymena in Northern Ireland as a community riven by sectarianism, as seen in the recent murder of a Catholic youth and the reluctance of local unionist politicians to work with republican counterparts. Participants -------------- ¶8. (SBU) In addition to Foreign Minister Ahern, Irish participants included Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Secretary General Dermot Gallagher and the Minister's Special SIPDIS Advisor, Ciaran O Cuinn. On the U.S. side, the DCM and Pol/Econ Section Chief also took part. FOLEY