DUBLIN, Ireland, March 4 (UPI) -- The head of the Irish Republican Army's political wing has decided to work with British officials in solving a killing that implicates IRA members.
Gerry Adams, president of Sinn Fein, has said he will give police the names of seven fellow party members suspected in last month's fatal stabbing of Robert McCartney, a Roman Catholic father of two, the Times of London said.
That decision has rocked Sinn Fein and is expected to dominate its Dublin conference, set to begin Friday.
McCartney's killing plus the December robbery of the Northern Bank, also widely seen as an IRA operation, has put pressure on Sinn Fein leaders' efforts to guide the republican movement out of a guerrilla mindset and into full engagement with the political process.
Mitchel McLaughlin, the Sinn Fein chairman has publicly supported Adams' decision to give IRA names to authorities.
"Sinn Fein fully supports, unambiguously supports, people making available any evidence or any information that would lead to the judicial process that will give the McCartney family the justice they deserve," McLaughlin said.
