IS THIS THE END OF TERROR?
Is this the end of terror?
As 16 more victims of the Omagh bombing are laid to rest, they leave behind so many scarred for life both physically and mentally. This is a time for all who identify with any militant cause in any part of this island to listen to the people. The mood of the moment demands an end to the activities of all terror groups. People everywhere are shattered by what has happened and are crying from the heart. Enough. No more violence, ever.
The mass murder that took place in Omagh must mark a defining moment for all those in Ireland, north and south, who have argued, for generations, that violence with a political motive can be justified. This week must mark the end of any dalliance with activities which bring only death and destruction.
The Irish government, meeting in Dublin to devise new ways of "crushing" the Real IRA and their followers, are acting on that wave of popular revulsion. The obscenity of the Omagh bombing, and the terrorists' insulting attempt to say that the Tyrone town was a legitimate
"commercial" target, has left ordinary people aghast. The security decisions taken today must ensure that every legal loophole is closed and that there is no hiding place for these killers.
No credence can be given to anything the Real IRA says, but clearly it is feeling the pressure. Only hours after giving false information about its warnings on Saturday and speaking about the "ongoing war against the Brits", it now says it is in ceasefire mode. Twisted and inhuman minds are now applied to finding a way out of the barbaric cul-de-sac of terror in which they are trapped. They remain a public menace and no amount of apology or explanation can mask that fact.
But this an issue which must go further and encompass all who have engaged in violence over so many years. Much of that has only differed in scale to that of the Real IRA. All militant groups must now respond to the sense of deep public revulsion and go further than they have done to date. The majority of them have chosen the political path, have obtained representation in the new alternative - the Northern Ireland Assembly - and are waiting for others to accept them as fully-fledged democrats.
It will not happen, however, without further action on their part. Expressions of condemnation about the Omagh bombing, from Sinn Fein, were a further demonstration that times have changed. Now what is needed, from them and the loyalist parties, is an acceptance that the Good Friday agreement must be implemented in all its aspects. Along with the equality agenda and prisoner releases must be evidence that all violence is at an end, for good, and that co-operation is beginning with the decommissioning body.
That would be a sign, which all could see, that the Omagh bombing was a real turning point and not just another milestone in a long and endless journey. How many times, over the past 30 years have the terrorists gone to ground after some act of inexcusable savagery, only to reappear weeks later, taking advantage of short memories?
It must not and need not happen this time. There is a political alternative in being, which will meet within a month, and there will never be a starker example than Omagh of where terrorism ultimately leads, in Israel, Africa or Northern Ireland. Young people, who are the most vulnerable to calls to arms from the godfathers, can surely see, in the mangled bodies of fellow teenagers, the consequences of terrorism.
Tighter security is essential, but the best security would be a total commitment to the form of democratic accountability that has been endorsed by people, north and south. That means turning backs on the gun and bomb, not just as a temporary expedient, but for all time.
Those who still constitute a threat, and who want the peace process to produce results, must not let this moment pass. People demand a new way forward and loyalist and republican groups alike will be trampling on the graves of the Omagh victims if they do not respond.
As 16 more victims of the Omagh bombing are laid to rest, they leave behind so many scarred for life both physically and mentally. This is a time for all who identify with any militant cause in any part of this island to listen to the people. The mood of the moment demands an end to the activities of all terror groups. People everywhere are shattered by what has happened and are crying from the heart. Enough. No more violence, ever.
The mass murder that took place in Omagh must mark a defining moment for all those in Ireland, north and south, who have argued, for generations, that violence with a political motive can be justified. This week must mark the end of any dalliance with activities which bring only death and destruction.
The Irish government, meeting in Dublin to devise new ways of "crushing" the Real IRA and their followers, are acting on that wave of popular revulsion. The obscenity of the Omagh bombing, and the terrorists' insulting attempt to say that the Tyrone town was a legitimate
"commercial" target, has left ordinary people aghast. The security decisions taken today must ensure that every legal loophole is closed and that there is no hiding place for these killers.
No credence can be given to anything the Real IRA says, but clearly it is feeling the pressure. Only hours after giving false information about its warnings on Saturday and speaking about the "ongoing war against the Brits", it now says it is in ceasefire mode. Twisted and inhuman minds are now applied to finding a way out of the barbaric cul-de-sac of terror in which they are trapped. They remain a public menace and no amount of apology or explanation can mask that fact.
But this an issue which must go further and encompass all who have engaged in violence over so many years. Much of that has only differed in scale to that of the Real IRA. All militant groups must now respond to the sense of deep public revulsion and go further than they have done to date. The majority of them have chosen the political path, have obtained representation in the new alternative - the Northern Ireland Assembly - and are waiting for others to accept them as fully-fledged democrats.
It will not happen, however, without further action on their part. Expressions of condemnation about the Omagh bombing, from Sinn Fein, were a further demonstration that times have changed. Now what is needed, from them and the loyalist parties, is an acceptance that the Good Friday agreement must be implemented in all its aspects. Along with the equality agenda and prisoner releases must be evidence that all violence is at an end, for good, and that co-operation is beginning with the decommissioning body.
That would be a sign, which all could see, that the Omagh bombing was a real turning point and not just another milestone in a long and endless journey. How many times, over the past 30 years have the terrorists gone to ground after some act of inexcusable savagery, only to reappear weeks later, taking advantage of short memories?
It must not and need not happen this time. There is a political alternative in being, which will meet within a month, and there will never be a starker example than Omagh of where terrorism ultimately leads, in Israel, Africa or Northern Ireland. Young people, who are the most vulnerable to calls to arms from the godfathers, can surely see, in the mangled bodies of fellow teenagers, the consequences of terrorism.
Tighter security is essential, but the best security would be a total commitment to the form of democratic accountability that has been endorsed by people, north and south. That means turning backs on the gun and bomb, not just as a temporary expedient, but for all time.
Those who still constitute a threat, and who want the peace process to produce results, must not let this moment pass. People demand a new way forward and loyalist and republican groups alike will be trampling on the graves of the Omagh victims if they do not respond.
Further Information
Publisher: BELFAST TELEGRAPH
Ref: BT/0096
Published Date: 19-Aug-98
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