'Colombia 3' strain Ireland's international relations

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James Monaghan, Martin McAuley, and Niall Connolly, dubbed the "Colombia 3" by Irish and British papers, revealed their return to Ireland in early August, when Monaghan was interviewed by Irish state broadcaster RTE. The three men were convicted by the Colombian government of training members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), one of Latin America's largest narco-terrorist organizations, and sentenced to 17 years in prison each.

The men fled Colombia in December 2004 while appealing their convictions.

Presently, the Colombia 3 are believed to be still at large in Ireland, and are being sought by Irish police. Deputy prime minister Mary Harney has promised that the trio will be brought to justice, although she has hedged on the possibility of their extradition to Colombia, instead suggesting that they serve their prison sentences in Ireland, reports AP.

"It is important that the three persons involved, and those who have expressed exultation at their return to this country, should not underestimate the government's determination to explore all the options open to it to ensure that Ireland continues to play its full part in the fight against international terrorism," Harney said.

The trio's presence in Ireland and the government's reluctance to hand them over may be straining Irish relations with Colombia. The Colombian government has been adamant that the three men be extradited to serve their sentences. In an Irish Times opinion piece (subscription required), Vice President Francisco Santos invoked the specter of terrorism in outlining his government's argument.

Over the past few years, bombs set by the FARC against our civilian population have become more deadly and more difficult for authorities to detect and disarm. ...

These improvements in explosives by the FARC did not come from an Al Qaeda or anarchist website; they came from the direct training of people like James Monaghan, Niall Connolly, and Martin McCauley.

A US State Department official, on condition of anonymity, said last night that James Monaghan, Niall Connolly, and Martin McCauley were deemed to be "fugitives of Colombian justice".

Although emphasising that the case would have to be dealt with by the Irish and Colombian governments, Washington could not simply ignore the situation. ...

"The US condemns contributions to terrorism, such as the three were found guilty of, no matter where it's perpetrated," the official added.

Irish officials have admitted that the episode has hurt relations with the US, the Independent noted in an earlier article.

"It doesn't do any good for our relationship with the United States," [said Social Affairs Minister Seamus Brennan.] "We have major investment programs here with the US. We are not harboring terrorists; we have a common law system, it is entirely different."

The Colombia 3's return has also threatened to derail the peace process in Northern Ireland. While Gerry Adams, president of Sinn Féin, publicly welcomed the trio home, the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) and the Democractic Unionist Party (DUP), the two major unionist parties in Northern Ireland and fierce opponents of the IRA, have lambasted the government of the Irish Republic for their inaction.

The UUP said that unless the Colombia 3 were returned to Colombia, "Ireland was harboring terrorists and shirking its duty in the international war on terror," reported The Guardian, while in a Reuters article, the DUP suggested that the trio's return was part of a deal secretly negotiated between the IRA and Irish Republic. The Irish government denied the charge.

According to a Sunday Independent poll, the Irish public predominately believes the Colombia 3 should serve their sentences with 86 percent in favor, though they're evenly split on whether the trio should do their time in Colombia or in Ireland. The poll also reports that three-quarters of the public are dissatisfied with the Irish government's handling of the situation, though a majority believes the Colombia 3's return was not part of an IRA deal with the Republic of Ireland.

"So long as there is no bilateral extradition treaty between Ireland and Colombia, there can be no extradition," [extradition law expert Remy] Farrell said. "This then begs the question as to whether the (Irish) government would enter into such an agreement."

The biggest obstacle to establishing a treaty, Farrell said, was Colombia's human rights record, which he noted has been criticized by the United Nations. The risk that the men could be killed in prison could also be cited as a reason to refuse extradition, he said.

In their search for grounds to compel Ireland's extradition of the trio, Colombia's lawyers have even gone all the way back to a 1888 treaty with the United Kingdom, of which Ireland was a part at the time, reports The Sunday Times of Ireland.

The 1888 law, the "Treaty between Great Britain and Colombia for the mutual surrender of fugitive criminals" includes offences such as "piracy", "sinking or destroying a vessel at sea" and "dealing in slaves". It was drawn up between the Queen of Great Britain and Ireland and the president of Colombia and stated that "fugitives from justice, should, under certain circumstances, be reciprocally delivered up" by either side.

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