Sinn Fein? They have gone away, you know.

[Shamrock Shore]

Why should we believe this source when we are asked not to believe other sources who say he was involved?

[Myles Na G.]

Surely this isn't right :


Gerry Adams is being questioned for up to 17 hours a day by detectives investigating the murder of Jean McConville, a source close to him says.

Read Eamonn Mallie on Twitter for an account of what's happening in Antrim police station.

Hysterical reaction from SF and its supporters. Had PSNI chosen not to interview Adams in the light of the Boston tapes, the Price interview, statements from various former comrades of Adams - that would've been political policing. The arrest of Adams won't have any impact on voters - the immaturity of SF's response to his arrest will. The good will they'd built up over the way they'd handled the invitation to go to Buckingham Palace, the superb performance by the Lord Mayor of Belfast this year, all that has been blown away by the spit-the-dummy-out response of McGuinness et al.

[lawnseed]

He'll be fine! When he gets out a few days off and back to business as usual.

[orangeman]

Peter Robinson said the PSNI must not be subjected to "republican bullyboy tactics".

In a statement on Sunday, Mr Robinson, the Democratic Unionist Party leader said: "The protest action taken by Sinn Féin is unacceptable in any democratic country operating under the rule of law.

"The publicly conveyed threat to the PSNI delivered by the highest levels of Sinn Féin that they will reassess their attitude to policing if Gerry Adams is charged is a despicable, thuggish attempt to blackmail the PSNI.

"The threat now means that ordinary decent citizens will conclude that the PSNI and the PPS have succumbed to a crude and overt political threat if Adams is not charged.

"The PSNI must not be the subject of republican bullyboy tactics.

"They must be completely free to follow any and all evidence regardless of where it takes them and to decide free of political considerations whether suspects will be charged or not."

[muppet]

Peter Robinson said the PSNI must not be subjected to "republican bullyboy tactics".

In a statement on Sunday, Mr Robinson, the Democratic Unionist Party leader said: "The protest action taken by Sinn Féin is unacceptable in any democratic country operating under the rule of law.

"The publicly conveyed threat to the PSNI delivered by the highest levels of Sinn Féin that they will reassess their attitude to policing if Gerry Adams is charged is a despicable, thuggish attempt to blackmail the PSNI.

"The threat now means that ordinary decent citizens will conclude that the PSNI and the PPS have succumbed to a crude and overt political threat if Adams is not charged.

"The PSNI must not be the subject of republican bullyboy tactics.

"They must be completely free to follow any and all evidence regardless of where it takes them and to decide free of political considerations whether suspects will be charged or not."

This position by Robinson could only be seen as reasonable if he was consistent and, for example, said the same thing about the fleg protests.

[lynchbhoy]

Not a Robinson fan - but he had to comment,given his position- and what else could he say?
If he did come out in support of Adams he'd be accused of undermining the police force.

Muppet is right though - it's inconsistent of him but that's politics I suppose - esp unionist politics!

I sniggered when I read his comments though thinking that the shoe is on the other foot as it used to be republicans complaining of unionist and police bully boy tactics!!

[our_fella]

Surely this isn't right :


Gerry Adams is being questioned for up to 17 hours a day by detectives investigating the murder of Jean McConville, a source close to him says.

Whats wrong with it?

[Main Street]

Sdlp view -

SDLP West Belfast MLA Alex Attwood criticised Sinn Féin for staging the rally and said people must stand in support of the McConville family.
He said some people were "on the wrong side of where the great majority of people are".
"It begs many, many questions that a rally was held this afternoon in the shadow of Divis, from the very place where Jean McConville was taken and then murdered," added Mr Attwood.
He continued,"How can any organisation think it appropriate to convene a rally around the arrest of a person in relation to Jean McConville's murder yards from where she was abducted?"
Mr Attwood said the rally was "another example of Sinn Féin displaying fundamentally bad judgment, at the very least, around the recent arrest".
"Martin McGuinness has raised questions about support for policing. The new beginning to policing was hard won and no one should casually undermine it.
"The comments of Mr McGuinness are a challenge to Irish democracy, that somehow one person is bigger than peace or politics. As before, Sinn Féin are on the wrong side of the people of Ireland. "

Have no time for Attwood at all but would agree with most of this. The placards they were holding earlier saying "Defend The Peace Process" were strange in my opinion. Do SF mean that people potentially involved in ordering these murders must be protected at all costs? The Disappeared are amongst the most divisive cases of the Troubles and aren't going away. Gerry getting sweated for a few days won't undermine the peace process, nor would him getting put inside if it is proved that he was involved. The detectives questioning him are probably sweating more than him!

Atwood is feeble minded, appeals to the feeble minded and that statement is a good example of that.

The disappeared are part of the casualties of war, not a separate issue. Even if it was verifiable fact that there was a unit in the IRA in the early 1970's dedicated to sniffing out informers who were infecting the community, that's where it should lay re criminal prosecution, regardless if that unit got it wrong or not. It was a republican military reaction to reduce the effect of the  British/RUC/Unionist strategy of fomenting the dastardly cult of the informer.

So yes the attitude behind the Adams arrest is perceived to be counteracting the peace process. It's an attitude which does not recognise the GFA for what it was, a negotiated settlement between all sides, recognising grievances with some possible political framework for the future. It's an attitude which still seeks to criminalise republicans for carrying out armed resistance to their Orange statelet, in effect it's anti-peace process.

[omagh_gael]

Gerry to walk free this evening and file sent to PPS.

This whole episode will, in my opinion, only serve to strengthen Gerry and SF's position in the future. He'll have no bother answering difficult questions re his IRA links in the Dail from now on.

Could this have been one grand scheme to allow Gerry to exit the scene with his name (in some way) clean, allow an unencumbered person (Mary-lou et al) to take the lead role, there by ensuring the best chance of peace possible going forward?

All this resting, of course,  on the PPS having no case to follow up.

[Syferus]

Gerry to walk free this evening and file sent to PPS.

This whole episode will, in my opinion, only serve to strengthen Gerry and SF's position in the future. He'll have no bother answering difficult questions re his IRA links in the Dail from now on.

Could this have been one grand scheme to allow Gerry to exit the scene with his name (in some way) clean, allow an unencumbered person (Mary-lou et al) to take the lead role, there by ensuring the best chance of peace possible going forward?

All this resting, of course,  on the PPS having no case to follow up.

Some of the pro-Gerry stuff in this thread has been deluded in the extreme.

This only damages Adams and Sinn Fein. They've made themselves look like a bunch of babies on top of their leader being linked to a murder.

[trileacman]

Sdlp view -

SDLP West Belfast MLA Alex Attwood criticised Sinn Féin for staging the rally and said people must stand in support of the McConville family.
He said some people were "on the wrong side of where the great majority of people are".
"It begs many, many questions that a rally was held this afternoon in the shadow of Divis, from the very place where Jean McConville was taken and then murdered," added Mr Attwood.
He continued,"How can any organisation think it appropriate to convene a rally around the arrest of a person in relation to Jean McConville's murder yards from where she was abducted?"
Mr Attwood said the rally was "another example of Sinn Féin displaying fundamentally bad judgment, at the very least, around the recent arrest".
"Martin McGuinness has raised questions about support for policing. The new beginning to policing was hard won and no one should casually undermine it.
"The comments of Mr McGuinness are a challenge to Irish democracy, that somehow one person is bigger than peace or politics. As before, Sinn Féin are on the wrong side of the people of Ireland. "

Have no time for Attwood at all but would agree with most of this. The placards they were holding earlier saying "Defend The Peace Process" were strange in my opinion. Do SF mean that people potentially involved in ordering these murders must be protected at all costs? The Disappeared are amongst the most divisive cases of the Troubles and aren't going away. Gerry getting sweated for a few days won't undermine the peace process, nor would him getting put inside if it is proved that he was involved. The detectives questioning him are probably sweating more than him!

Atwood is feeble minded, appeals to the feeble minded and that statement is a good example of that.

The disappeared are part of the casualties of war.

So dragging a mother from her 10 children and executing her was fair game, as long as it achieved a United Ireland (well thank god it did). Such a f**king statement, by your warped thinking Bloody Sunday was simply another act of war and the 3 unarmed men killed in Gibraltar were just a few dead soldiers. Should we just forget casualties like Finucane and Patsy Kelly, tell the Brits "no justice is needed because we were at war, it was a different time and lets not spill the Stormont gravy train".

[Nally Stand]

Gerry to walk free this evening and file sent to PPS.

This whole episode will, in my opinion, only serve to strengthen Gerry and SF's position in the future. He'll have no bother answering difficult questions re his IRA links in the Dail from now on.

Could this have been one grand scheme to allow Gerry to exit the scene with his name (in some way) clean, allow an unencumbered person (Mary-lou et al) to take the lead role, there by ensuring the best chance of peace possible going forward?

All this resting, of course,  on the PPS having no case to follow up.

Some of the pro-Gerry stuff in this thread has been deluded in the extreme.

This only damages Adams and Sinn Fein. They've made themselves look like a bunch of babies on top of their leader being linked to a murder.

Should he be charged with IRA membership,  do you think it will make any difference? Outside of the media and the easily led (who's position on Gerry won't change), would anybody else give a rats ass?

[All of a Sludden]

Adams is to be released without charge, later this evening, with a file sent to the prosecution services according to latest media reports.

[AQMP]

Adams is to be released without charge, later this evening, with a file sent to the prosecution services according to latest media reports.

Is that it?!?!

[orangeman]

Nicely choreographed.

Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams has been released from custody over a 1972 murder and a file will be sent to the Public Prosecution Service, police have confirmed.