BY KATHIE FITZGERALD AND MEGAN ARNEY
NEWARK, New Jersey - Some 30 people packed a court room
here June 29 to support the fight of Irish nationalists
Malachy and Bernadette McAllister and their family for
political asylum in the United States. The family fled their
home in Belfast, Northern Ireland, after an assassination
attempt by pro-British gunmen in 1988.
The Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) recently denied both Malachy, today a construction worker, and Bernadette's claim for asylum, saying the family would not be in any danger if they returned to the British-occupied north of Ireland. The McAllisters disagree.
"There's a 10-year gap between the deaths of Pat Finucane and Rosemary Nelson," said Malachy McAllister, referring to two well-known civil rights attorneys murdered by loyalist paramilitaries in Northern Ireland. "Obviously that tells you something. There's still collusion with the RUC [Royal Ulster Constabulary] there.... These are people who are very prominent and fought for civil rights and the nationalist cause, and if the loyalists are able to do that to them, what have they been able to do to ordinary nationalists such as ourselves?"
The INS also ruled that Malachy's past convictions were criminal, not political. In the early 1980s, Malachy was arrested and detained by the RUC in the notorious Castlereagh prison on the word of an informer. He was threatened until he was forced to confess to their charges. British officials used this "confession" and the informer's testimony to convict McAllister of conspiracy to murder a RUC officer in a juryless "Diplock" court. He served several years in Long Kesh prison.
With an Irish nationalist record McAllister, once out of prison, was put on a short list for harassment by pro-British forces. On Oct. 2, 1988, "four loyalist paramilitaries came to the house. They pointed the guns through the windows," he told the Militant. Malachy and Bernadette McAllister had left on an unplanned vacation, but Bernadette's mother and their four small children were at home.
"When our oldest son Gary [then 11] looked out the bedroom window, one of the gunmen was standing at the gate and he pointed up and literally shot into the bedroom where the kids were," Malachy explained.
Although there was a RUC patrol not 100 yards away, it took the police 20 minutes to come to the house. This gave the attackers time to make good their escape, as the RUC claimed to have seen nothing.
Shortly after, McAllister's police file, complete with his address, and the weapons used in the attempted assassination turned up in a loyalist safehouse not far away.
The McAllister family fled to Canada and filed for refugee status. Their petitions were denied, Malachy's due to his previous convictions and Bernadette and the children because, the Canadian government claimed, they had nothing to fear from returning to Northern Ireland.
The McAllisters also learned from government files that Canadian authorities had informed British intelligence of Malachy's pending deportation. The family entered the United States in the spring of 1996. Shortly after their arrival they secured legal representation and applied for political asylum.
Federal Judge Henry Dogan has granted the McAllisters a continuation until August 31 to give the U.S. government time to address arguments raised by the defense.
Gathering on the courthouse steps after the June 29 hearing, the McAllisters pledged to continue their fight and asked their supporters to do the same. A McAllister Family Justice Committee has been formed, which Malachy told the Militant he'd like to see reach out to all supporters of democratic rights and fighters for justice such as those in the New York-New Jersey area who have been campaigning against police brutality. "In the context of my being brought up in Belfast, losing your first job because of your religion, I can see the correlation between my upbringing and what's going on in New York with Blacks and Hispanics," Malachy said. "There've been situations where they've been targeted by the police. I can see the parallels being a nationalist targeted by the RUC."
The defense committee is calling on supporters to attend the August 31 hearing at 8:30 a.m. at the Federal Building in Newark and to write letters to Attorney General Janet Reno.
Kathie Fitzgerald is a member of the United Transportation Union. Larry Quinn, a member of the Communications Workers of America, contributed to this article.