Irish Aires News

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June 28, 2006

IAUC Loses Confidence in Hain

IRISH AMERICAN UNITY CONFERENCE
For Immediate Release
Contact: Mike Cummings (w) 518 482 0349 or (h) 518 447 4802

IAUC LOSES CONFIDENCE IN HAIN

Washington, D.C. June 28, 2006 - The Irish American Unity Conference
(IAUC) has said Irish America has lost confidence in Britain's
Northern Secretary State Peter Hain to fairly manage the peace
process.

In a statement today, IAUC President Dr. Robert Linnon said: "A series
of controversial decisions by Peter Hain which have been clearly and
unashamedly designed to bolster unionism and disadvantage nationalism
have undermined his authority and standing in Irish America. Mr. Hain
has become a team player for the DUP and not a referee, making it
impossible for him to bring the pressure to bear on Dr Paisley's party
which is needed if the political logjam is to be broken."

Dr. Linnon pointed out five major areas where Mr. Hain has made
decisions that hark back to the days of unionist rule at Stormont
rather than the era of fair play supposedly ushered in by the Good
Friday Agreement. These were:

1. Bending the rules of the Parades Commission appointments process to
put two obviously biased Orangemen on the Commission while making no
effort to have the views of nationalist residents represented. This
decision is continuing to be challenged in the courts by the residents
of Garvaghy Road.

2. Appointing a head of the Victims' Commission after consulting alone
with the DUP. Again this decision is being challenged by nationalist
victims' groups in the courts.

3. Blocking demands for a full investigation of British security force
collusion in the case of murdered human rights attorney Pat Finucane
and seeking to frustrate attempts by nationalists to uncover the truth
about past killings by the British security forces.

4. Refusing start-up assistance and advertising on a par with other
pro-government newspapers to the pro-United Ireland newspaper Daily
Ireland.

5. His imprisonment of republican Sean Kelly in June 2005 showed that
Mr. Hain is more interested in pandering to the DUP than pushing
forward the peace process."

Dr. Linnon said Mr. Hain's pandering continues to the present day with
the proffering of a November 24 deadline to the DUP when they should
be told to get the power-sharing Executive up and running now.

ENDS

For comment, please contact: Mike Cummings: (w) 518 482 0349 or (h)
518 447 4802

IRISH AMERICAN UNITY CONFERENCE

National Office
611 Pennsylvania Ave, SE # 4150
Washington, D.C. 20003

www.iauc.org

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