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Has Gerry lost support in the US?
Has Gerry lost support in the US?
By Mark Simpson
BBC Ireland correspondent
In America, Gerry Adams is like Jerry Springer - you either love him
or hate him.
He's outspoken, he's controversial, he's been accused of stirring up
trouble for many years and his critics say he thrives on conflict...
that's Gerry/Jerry.
Not true, say friends; the real Gerry/Jerry is a peacemaker, a man
who uses unorthodox methods to try to resolve unorthodox problems.
Jerry Springer is a talk show host; Gerry Adams is a politician. It's
unlikely their paths will cross in the US this week, unless Springer
decides to do a show about broken relationships.
The love-in between Irish America and the Sinn Fein president has hit
the rocks.
The most potent symbol of that was the decision by Senator Edward
Kennedy to refuse to meet Adams during the St. Patrick's week
celebrations.
Peace process
Many regard Kennedy as the father figure of Irish America and by
slamming the door on Adams he sent out a very symbolic message.
"He's been badly advised," said a Sinn Fein spokesman.
Privately, the party believes that the Irish government twisted
Kennedy's arm to cancel the planned meeting.
In many ways, Kennedy's move was more significant than President
Bush's refusal to invite Adams to the White House.
Gerry and George have never been great buddies.
With Kennedy it was different. In the past he went out on a political
limb for Adams, particularly in the early days of the peace process,
when President Clinton was persuaded to allow Sinn Fein to visit the
USA.
It's clear the veteran senator's patience with republicans has now
snapped. More than 10 years into the peace process, he expected the
IRA to have gone away by now.
The £26m bank robbery, a money-laundering scam in the Irish Republic
and the murder of Robert McCartney - all have been blamed on the IRA
in recent months.
That's why St Patrick's Day is going to be very different in
Washington this year. In political terms, there's nothing to
celebrate.
Alarm bells
For Gerry Adams, some doors have been closed - and that's grabbed the
headlines - but others have remained open.
The former US envoy to Northern Ireland, Richard Haass, invited him
to New York on Monday.
At a breakfast meeting, he was greeted by many key players in Irish
American relations, including millionaire Bill Flynn, Senator
Kennedy's sister Jean Kennedy-Smith and former UN envoy Nancy
Soderberg.
The meeting itself went well, but what must have set Sinn Fein alarm
bells ringing was when Haass mentioned Adams in the same breath as
Yasser Arafat.
The recently deceased Palestinian leader was once hailed as a man of
peace but the Americans later came to the conclusion that he was a
man of war. Sound familiar?
It's a comparison that Sinn Fein firmly rejects. When I put the
Arafat remark to Adams, he brushed it off, pointing out with a smile
that he was still very much alive.
We spoke at an Irish theme bar in New Jersey. Adams had just given a
speech in the pub, in front of about 150 adoring supporters.
I spoke to a number of them. They all assured me that in spite of
Edward Kennedy's rebuff, grass root Irish Americans still loved the
Sinn Fein leader.
In the crowd, was one of the tallest men I've ever seen. He could
certainly claim the title of Gerry Adams' biggest supporter. We did a
quick interview on camera in which he eloquently outlined his support
for Sinn Fein, for peace and for democracy.
Half an hour later, as I was leaving the bar, I heard this deep voice
calling me back.
"Hey, Mr BBC man... Up the IRA!".
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