Daughter of 'disappeared' victim slams Adams' hostage appeal
The daughter of a man kidnapped by the IRA more than 20 years ago has attacked Gerry Adams for appearing on Arab TV to appeal for the return of British hostage Ken Bigley.
Anna McShane, whose father Charlie Armstrong went missing in 1981, said the Sinn Féin president was not doing enough to help the families of the so-called “Disappeared”.
“I have no real problem with Gerry Adams or any other politician calling for the release of an innocent man, but I do feel Gerry Adams would be better suited putting more of his energies into locating and returning the bodies of the Disappeared in his own country,” she said.
Mr Armstrong, a 57-year-old father of five, from Crossmaglen, Co Armagh, vanished on his way to Mass in August 1981.
The IRA, which has been blamed for his death, has denied any involvement in the case.
Mr Adams appeared on the al-Jazeera channel yesterday after being approached by campaigners seeking the release of Mr Bigley, abducted in the Iraqi capital Baghdad three weeks ago.
He told the TV station: “I am not here to lecture or dictate to people, but I believe that the case of those who hold Mr Bigley can be better advanced if they are magnanimous and generous and release him.”
The Sinn Féin chief has in the past been called on to help find people whose bodies were buried in secret locations after being kidnapped by the IRA.
Mrs McShane said: “Someone out there knows something and they are afraid to talk. It is like a blanket of silence,” she said.
“I think Gerry Adams should stand up and say as peace is going on ‘I will support anyone with information to come forward and help these families’.
“These families are all in limbo. They can’t get on with their lives,” she added.
