Gerry Adams will unveil a hunger strike monument in
Cuba
Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams has defended
plans to meet the Cuban leader Fidel Castro.
Speaking as he left Belfast for the three-day
trip to South America on Sunday, Mr Adams
said he was fulfilling an engagement to unveil a
memorial to republican hunger strikers who died
in 1981.
Ten men died in the Maze prison H-blocks
hunger strike two decades ago as republican
prisoners fought to get political status.
The West Belfast MP said he wanted to
acknowledge President Castro's support for the
hunger strike.
"This is the 20th
anniversary of the
hunger strike and there
has been a year of
commemoration, debate
and discussion in
Ireland and around the
world," he said.
"We will be unveiling a memorial to the hunger
strikers in Havana which will be a fitting end to
that commemorative year.
"President Castro spoke out in support of the
Irish struggle and commended the courage of
the men in the H-Blocks and the women in
Armagh Jail."
Mr Adams is accompanied on the trip by North
Belfast assembly member Gerry Kelly.
The visit comes after Sinn Fein's
representative in Cuba Niall Connolly was one
of three republicans arrested in Colombia in
August.
Internal investigation
Niall Connolly, Martin McCauley and James
Monaghan were charged with training Marxist
guerrillas of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of
Colombia, the FARC, in explosives and urban
terrorism.
Sinn Fein initially denied that Mr Connolly was
a party official.
But Mr Adams later confirmed that an internal
investigation revealed "one of our senior
members asked Niall Connolly to represent the
party in Cuba".
"This decision was taken without the
knowledge or authorisation of the international
department or any other party structure
including the party chairperson or myself," he
said.
Mr Adams said proper procedures had not been
employed in the appointment of Mr Connolly.
'Mistake'
He said they had since been reviewed to
ensure that this "unfortunate situation" did not
arise again.
The arrest of the trio in Bogotá for travelling
on false passports led to calls for Sinn Fein to
be excluded from the Northern Ireland
Assembly.
Mr Adams' trip to Havana is going ahead
despite concern in the United States about the
merits of the trip.
Earlier this week, Peter King, a Republican
congressman, said he thought the visit was a
"mistake".
The delegation are expected to return on
Thursday.
Mr Adams will also visit the Juan Marquez
Hospital and the Latin American School of
Medical Sciences.
