Family members of folks killed in Northern Ireland testified this week to a federal commission chaired by Congressman Chris Smith, with the relatives calling for independent investigations and accountability for past abuses by security services in Northern Ireland.

    A group of Irish-American leaders from Hamilton, led by Sean Pender of the National Ancient Order of Hibernians in America, were among the many activists on Capitol Hill seeking justice and resolution for the grisly acts of violence against their kinsmen.

    The killings, Pender said, were “not just isolated incidents.” After the Smith-led Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe hearing ended on Wednesday, Pender told The Trentonian “the British government and security forces were involved through acts of collusion.”

    “It’s important everybody learns the truth of what happened,” Pender said.

    At the hearing, Congressman Smith said, “I join my voice with theirs to say: enough obfuscation and stonewalling. We must continue to press for the truth — wherever it leads — and continue to press until justice has been served and those responsible have been held to account.”

    Smith, R-Hamilton, chairs the CSCE, which is also called the Helsinki Commission. It’s an independent agency of the federal government charged with monitoring human rights in dozens of countries around the world.

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The Irish Immigrant:

The U.S. Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (The Helsinki Commission) held a hearing Wednesday entitled "Northern Ireland: Why Justice in Individual Cases Matters." The hearing was chaired by Congressman Chris Smith (R-NJ). The Helsinki Commission is an independent agency of the federal government which monitors compliance with the Helsinki Accords and promotes human rights, democracy and economic, environmental and military cooperation in 56 countries. This was the commission’s twelfth hearing on Northern Ireland. (full story)