Ned McGinley
                        National President
                        Ancient Order of Hibernians in America
                        263 E. South St.
                        Wilkes-Barre, PA 18702

nedaoh1@aol.com Email




The Honorable Tony Blair                            July 14, 2002
Prime Minister
10 Downing St.
London, England

Honorable Prime Minister,

Usually you are very sure footed, in treading through the minefields of the
politics in the Six Counties of Ulster. Allowing yourself to become a
minesweeper for the Ulster Unionist Party instead of having them do their own
duty and work to fulfill the Good Friday Agreement is not in your
government's best interest. The David Trimble and Jeffrey Donaldson moves to
have your government do their work and eliminate the Sinn Fein political
mandate is a recipe for an political breakdown in Ulster of quite large
proportions.

As the Panorama Program and the coming Stevens Inquiry Report will clearly
show British Government Interference in the Ireland has badly battered
London's claims to be a democracy let alone a mediator in the conflict.
Allowing your government to be used as an imperialistic tool by a distressed
UUP, that has no true leader who wishes to see the Northern Assembly work,
would be a serious error. Especially when we know there is no Orange Card to
be played in the Labor Government. Your interference would be easily detected
as London once again pushing aside Dublin, the SDLP, and the Sinn Fein
mandate to retain their control in a colonial manner.

Remember that all parties signed on to allowing a democratic mandate to
control the fate of the devolved province. This was a huge step for Sinn Fein
in that it changed the goal of their party for a United Ireland. For their
part the Dublin government changed the second and third articles in their
constitution that laid claim to the north. The SDLP returned to an assembly
they had spurned and were the peace brokers who had always claimed their
goals could be reached by peaceful means even at the risk of their own
political demise.

Everyone chipped in with some compliance with the exception of the Unionists
and Loyalists whose only agreement was to honor the Sinn Fein mandate (which
they were sure did not exist). This required them to free political prisoners
(the Loyalists got out too), reform a police force that was their private
army, and enter elections, which they were confident of winning. When the
Sinn Fein mandate and their success became too large and too confident their
solution was to change the agreement.

"They haven't decommissioned", was blunted by two acts of decommissioning of
Irish Republican Army weapons, which followed exposing arms caches, to the
IICD body led by General John DeChastelian. This man staked his considerable
reputation on supervising the decommissioning but it was not enough for the
Unionists.

Next, "Accuse them of breaches of the cease-fire", better known as keep
throwing mud and see if we can get some to stick. Columbia still is unproven
even though British Intelligence insists there is something there, but a US
House Committee found otherwise. How about guns from Russia, even they backed
out of that joke. The Castleriagh break-in still points to an inside job,
like the Stevens fire. The body found at Warrenpoint it turns out is the
victim of a common murder among shipmates. The Short Strand and the Holy
Cross Girls "are attacking us" claim the Loyalists but a 10-1 numerical
advantage in South Belfast and little girls in school uniforms belies that
charge. By the way where were your soldiers and the NIO when that travesty at
Holy Cross was being acted out?

The British Government needs to gather together the tattered remnants of
their reputation for fair play and allow this settlement to work out to its
logical end. Make the Unionists obey the democratic mandate that Sinn Fein
obviously has and battle for the hearts, minds, and political souls of the
people of the Six Counties. Enough of, "Running for their big brother to save
their butt from those nasty Irish politicians".

The Labor Government that you lead has responded with flexibility and
generosity in this Good Friday Agreement thus far. You actions have enabled
Irish-American groups like the Ancient Order of Hibernians in America to
encourage the Sinn Fein Party and Irish-Republicans everywhere to seek a
political settlement rather than resort to violence. We have encouraged them
to utilize democracy and they have succeeded enormously which has raised the
level of Unionist/Loyalist complaint. The demonization of Sinn Fein in an
attempt to remove them and their supporters from participation in a legally
elected government must be stopped.

Your efforts as well as ours has resulted in many lives being saved and
millions of British pounds made available to respond to the needs of the
population in Ulster instead of being spent on jails and prisoners. If you
take up the Unionist/Loyalist cause, while they in essence hold your coat,
you will be doing a huge disservice to all of the people of England.

Mr. Blair, the members of the Irish-American community who support peace and
a political settlement asks you to refrain from saving the Ulster Unionist
Party and instead save Peace with Justice and Parity of Esteem by completing
the implementation of the GFA and the Patten Commission Report. Only then
will the Unionist/Loyalist block realize that they must fight at the election
polls and in the devolved Northern Assembly not in the streets of Belfast or
the Halls of the London Parliament at Westminster.     



                            Sincerely,


                            Ned McGinley
                            National President
                            AOH in America
Cc:     John Reid MP, Secretary of State
    British Embassy, Washington DC
    George W. Bush, President USA