Help police solve murder, Long urges

12.00.00am GMT Tue 15th Feb 2005

East Belfast Alliance Assembly member, Cllr Naomi Long, has criticised Sinn Fein's response to the investigation of the murder of East Belfast man, Robert McCartney, allegedly by a senior republican.

Cllr Long, Chair of the East Belfast District Policing Partnership, who attended the vigil and funeral and called with the family in the wake of the murder, is backing the family's call for people with information to go to the Police.

Naomi Long said: "This was a brutal murder, and the family have made it clear publicly that they want people with information to come forward to help the investigation, so that the people who murdered Mr McCartney can be brought to justice. Any family would want the same thing.

"I have also received a number of calls to my office from people from the Short Strand area, who clearly feel intimated and that pressure is being applied by SF to prevent local people from co-operating with the police investigation.

"It is time that SF stopped equivocating on this issue and backed the calls of the family. How Sinn Fein feel about policing is irrelevant, the only thing which matters is how this bereaved family feel about their murdered son, brother, partner and father.

"I would encourage people to pass on any information they might have to the police to help this investigation and bring the individuals responsible to justice."