Sinn Fein leader risks furor with Cuba visit

MIAMI -- Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams is scheduled to arrive in Cuba on Sunday for a controversial four-day visit that seems certain to alienate supporters in the United States.

The much-awaited trip was originally due to take place this summer, but was postponed after three people suspected of belonging to the Irish Republican Amry were arrested in Colombia on terrorism charges.

Plans to reschedule the visit appeared to have been scratched after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Although Cuba played no role in the attacks on New York and Washington, its government is officially listed by the U.S. State Department as a "state sponsor of terrorism." Also, while Cuban leader Fidel Castro condemned the suicide hijackings, he has since been one of the most outspoken critics of U.S. military action in Afghanistan.

Sinn Fein, the political arm of the IRA, relies heavily on support in the United States -- especially in the New York area -- for fundraising. It also enjoys official recognition from the U.S. government as part of its commitment to the Good Friday peace accords.

The announcement of the Cuba visit prompted veiled criticism from the U.S. State Department on Thursday. "While we would prefer that he not visit Cuba this is entirely his decision to make," a State Department spokesman said.

But in recent days several prominent Irish-Americans have voiced strong opposition to the Adams visit, saying the republican cause should not be confused with Castro's communist system.

"Fidel Castro is a walking human rights violator," said J. Brian McCarthy, chairman of Irish American Republicans, a lobbying group. "We have supported Gerry Adams in the past and we will continue to support his efforts for peace and justice in the north of Ireland, but we will not allow him to go to Cuba and embrace a tyrant without comment."

The trip is planned to commemorate Cuban solidarity during the celebrated 1981 IRA hunger strike at the Maze prison. Ten strikers died in what became a major embarrassment for the British government over demands that IRA prisoners be given political status.

As well as meeting Castro, the Sinn Fein delegation will unveil a monument in memory of the hunger strikers.

Analysts say the visit is part of an attempt to improve Adams' international standing while peace talks drag on with the British government. The IRA has lately come under increased international pressure for dragging its feet over decommissioning its weapons, a key element of the peace process.

In October Adams made a similar visit to South Africa, where he met with former President Nelson Mandela. During that visit he also unveiled a sculpture on Robben Island to commemorate those who have died on hunger strikes in Northern Ireland and South Africa.

Analysts, however, say the merits of visiting Cuba are harder to see.

The trip will only serve to refocus debate over Sinn Fein's alleged involvement with left-wing Colombian guerrillas of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, often known by its Spanish abbreviation, FARC. One of the three IRA suspects jailed in Colombia was Sinn Fein's unofficial representative in Havana, Niall Connolly.

Connolly and two others, Martin McCauley and James Monaghan, were accused of training FARC fighters in explosives and urban terrorism. Sinn Fein initially denied that Connolly belonged to the party. But Adams later confirmed that an internal investigation revealed Connolly had been working in Havana for a senior Sinn Fein executive, though without the party's formal approval.

Republican members of Congress are aghast over the political timing of the visit. This week, Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., said: "I've told Gerry for some time I think it's a mistake to go. It undercuts Sinn Fein's argument for human rights. Castro is a flagrant violator of human rights."

The House International Relations Committee is conducting an inquiry into links between FARC and the IRA with a view to holding hearings. The committee is looking into allegations that the IRA has had a four-year connection to the Colombian group, during which time some 30 high-ranking IRA members have visited Colombia.

The Bush administration has warned the IRA that there would be serious consequences for Sinn Fein's status in the United States if it were proven that the IRA has been helping the FARC.

Asked about his meetings with Sinn Fein, the White House adviser on Northern Ireland, Richard Haass, said recently: "I made it categorically clear that the U.S. had very big interests in Colombia in terms of money and personnel. And I told them, I never want the situation to arise where the help of the IRA leads to the death of a U.S. citizen."

He also laughed at claims that the three alleged IRA members held in Colombia had been studying the peace process in that country.

"They were there involved in discussions about matters which can only be associated with activities that would fall under the rubric of terrorism," he said.

Next week's IRA tour may be the most high-profile delegation to visit Cuba, but relations between the Cuban revolution and the republican cause stretch back many years.

In the past the Castro regime has given haven to on-the-run IRA members, including the former IRA fugitive Evelyn Glenholmes, who was linked to an IRA arms and explosives cache in the early 1990s.

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