The Northern Bank robbery, the McCartney killing and the attempt to cover it up, and then the allegations about the multi million euro/pound criminal empire run by the IRA have put the leadership of the republican movement under intense pressure.

The "friends" and "allies" they have tried to court among the Irish, British and US ruling establishment have all turned on them, trying to isolate them and to damage Sinn Fein electorally.

A few months ago, these people were prepared to turn a partial blind eye to the robberies and other rackets that they knew were carried out by the IRA. The brutal methods used by the IRA and other paramilitaries to keep a grip on working class communities were also ignored. For Bush, Blair and Ahern, the deaths of working class people in the loyalist or republican heartlands of Belfast and Derry are of no concern provided they do not upset the "peace process".

What changed this was not the Northern Bank robbery or the death of Robert McCartney. It was the collapse of the talks at the start of December and the realisation that unless more concessions could be got from the republican movement, there was little or no prospect of the Assembly being revived.

The British and Irish governments are using recent events to try and knock Sinn Fein back, in the hope either that a deal could be done without them or else that the republican leadership could be left with no choice but to disband the IRA.

Republicans now find themselves in a very difficult position. A return to war is not a serious option. But their political strategy, which was based on the myth that by getting into government North and South and by introducing piecemeal and minor constitutional changes, they could eventually achieve a united Ireland, is now in tatters.

Unionists have now raised the bar and will demand the complete dismantling of the IRA as a precondition of any new deal. Even if they were prepared to consider this, the republican leadership would find it very hard to persuade their members that the IRA should be folded up in return for a promissory note from Ian Paisley that he might eventually share power with them. In any case the dismantling of a multi million pound/euro enterprise with assets that stretch across the world would be very difficult to achieve.

Under this onslaught from the very people they had tried for years to court as "allies", the first reaction of Adams and co. was to lean back to the base of republicanism in the working class communities in the North. A series of rallies were called to protest against what they portrayed as the attempt to "criminalise the nationalist community."

Their problem, and the reason for their obvious discomfort, is that just as they were trying to mobilise the Catholic community in the North behind them, a section of this community was angrily mobilising against them over the McCartney killing.

Neither the governments nor the main political parties have any idea how to get beyond the current impasse. They are incapable of bringing about a solution.

The talks between the four main parties have only been about how they can rule over a permanently divided society, not how that division can be overcome.

It is only the working class who can solve the problem. The mass reaction against the murder of Robert McCartney showed how the sectarian and paramilitary organisations can be isolated and stopped in their tracks by a movement of working class people. What happened in the Short Strand could also happen in Protestant working class communities in opposition to the brutal gangster methods of the loyalist paramilitaries.

Other class issues have also come to the fore that have cut across the sectarian division. The problem is the lack of a political alternative. Despite the barrage of attacks from the media and despite the real anger over the McCartney murder, it is not likely that Sinn Fein will suffer significantly in the May elections, mainly because of the lack of a viable alternative.

A new mass party to represent the common interests of working class people is needed. This could give a political voice to movements like the campaign for justice for Robert McCartney as well as to the industrial and social movements that are taking place.

Since Robert McCartney's murder on 30 January, his five sisters and his partner, Bridgeen, have conducted a determined campaign to have those who killed him brought to trial and convicted.

The names of the people who killed Robert McCartney are known to virtually everyone in the Short Strand and Markets area. They are local members of the IRA. The facts of the killing are also well known. A minor incident in Magennis's bar in the centre of Belfast led to a senior IRA man ordering an assault on Robert McCartney and Brendan Devine who were drinking together in the bar.

Brendan Devine's throat was cut in this attack before Robert McCartney managed to help him get out of the bar. Outside they were stabbed and severely beaten by about 12 men and were left for dead.

Robert McCartney died of his injuries. After the killing, a clean up of the bar took place and CCTV footage was removed. Since then a number of people have been questioned by the police, some have made statements, others have invoked their right to silence but no evidence to sustain a conviction has been produced.

Robert's sister Paula spoke to The Socialist about the campaign to secure justice for Robert.

"All we want is for the people who killed Robert to come forward and take responsibility for what they have done. We won't stop campaigning until people are convicted.

"We have had a fantastic response from the local community in the Short Strand. Robert was well known in the area and well liked. There have been two vigils in the area each attended by about 1,000 people, mostly from the district.

"We are now considering taking the issue beyond the area by having a rally outside Magennis's bar. As well as allowing people from both communities who might be hesitant about coming into the Short Strand to show their support, a large rally would help keep the pressure on the republican movement to get the people responsible to come forward."

The McCartney family have had meetings with senior republicans and attended the Sinn Fein Ard Fheis. What about the expulsions of three members from the IRA and seven members from Sinn Fein? Are they satisfied with these and the other assurances that have been given?

"What we want are the people who were responsible to be held accountable in the courts. The assurances are fine but they will not amount to anything if they do not end up in action. One of the people expelled from the IRA was expelled before and was then brought back in. Who's to say that this won't happen again if this all dies down? The IRA is an army and can order its members to give themselves up. This is what it should do.

"We went to the Ard Fheis to get a feel of what support was there. We also want to make clear that our campaign is about Robert, not just to have a go at the republican movement.

"Delegates at the Ard Fheis did stand to welcome us and more assurances were given. But we were disappointed to hear Gerry Adams later on television say that the attack on Robert was 'stupidity fuelled by alcohol'.

"Is he trying to diminish Robert's killing by saying it was a 'drunken fight'. The earlier statement that the IRA issued about what happened is not accurate. They claim that a senior IRA member was injured and had to go to hospital after a fight in the bar.

"Yet when we met the IRA they admitted that the incident in the bar was started by this same IRA man. We understand that he ordered the assault and was cut by one of his own members during the attack on Brendan Devine.

"We will not accept a damage limitation strategy by republicans, calling on people to come forward but also allowing their members to say so little to the police that no-one is ever convicted."

Robert McCartney's killing has raised broader questions about the methods the IRA, and other paramilitary organisations, use to maintain effective control of working class areas. Paula agreed with the Socialist Party's views that working class communities should be run democratically by the people who live in them, not by paramilitary organisations:

"No community wants or needs paramilitary organisations who think they can do whatever they like to keep control and can intimidate people from standing up against them. Robert was killed by people who like to present themselves as defenders of nationalist areas but, whenever this area was under attack, it was people like Robert, who was in no organisation, who was out there defending it."

"UVF are protecting my son's killers"

The grip of the paramilitaries extends to all working class areas. In recent years there have been a number of similar killings to the killing of Robert McCartney in loyalist areas.

John Allen was shot dead in his brother Aaron's flat in Ballyclare on 8 November 2003. His mother Mavis Wilson told The Socialist that she has no doubt that members of the UVF were responsible.

"My son Aaron was badly assaulted by the son of a prominent member of the UVF. He was in intensive care and nearly died. John challenged members of the UVF about the attack on his brother. He was threatened but refused to leave the country. They murdered him because he stood up to them. Eight days after John's death I was assaulted by a member of the UVF. I am taking him to court but the witnesses have been intimidated and I am still being intimidated.

"The UVF leadership said it was nothing to do with them. The men who are responsible are walking free and no-one has been charged. Everyone knows who did it but we have had no justice".