PICTURE OF PEACE PAINTED IN BLOOD
Picture of peace painted in blood
AFTER every disgraceful tragedy in Northern Ireland we witness the usual anger, hurt, sorrow and disbelief at the level the terrorists have stooped to yet again. "No words can express" has become the by-words for all.
After the Belfast Agreement Tony and Mo painted the picture of peace in our time, but, as we now know, the materials for this has been the blood of 28 innocent people in Omagh.
Several earlier "works of art" unsuccessfully whitewashed over the death of a father callously left to die in a lift in Belfast, as well as a few car bombs, mortar attacks, daily punishment beatings and knee-cappings.
Clearly the artists' ignorance of ceasefire breaches before and during the talks process has come home to roost.
Mo and Tony's Agreement formula for the sterilisation of the unclean doesn't work as the unclean do not fit the canvas presented to all desperate for peace.
Omagh is a large rip in that canvas and we now have restorers working overtime to mend this rip while ignoring the whole picture.
The agreement sculpted out of 30 years of terrorist butchery was stage managed to get the desired outcome.
Clearly the backroom promises and dealings change by the day as more and more concessions are squeezed out.
We had within the matter of a couple of days, prison releases by the Dublin government, followed by the sick and savage Omagh bombing. This
culminated in assurances that those responsible will be hunted down and put behind bars.
So, in the near future, don't be surprised if the Omagh bombers are elected into local or regional government, for it appears only to take a handshake from Mo or Tony to cleanse the uncleanable.
As in all wars, the innocent and the easily led volunteers die and the war-dog generals grow old.
The future will bear no change, as the tradeoffs with terrorists continue. Ongoing breaches of the Agreement will be ignored, the shabby process will continue no matter what the cost and the same words will be used to paint the desired picture.
JOHN ROSS,
Co. Down.
AFTER every disgraceful tragedy in Northern Ireland we witness the usual anger, hurt, sorrow and disbelief at the level the terrorists have stooped to yet again. "No words can express" has become the by-words for all.
After the Belfast Agreement Tony and Mo painted the picture of peace in our time, but, as we now know, the materials for this has been the blood of 28 innocent people in Omagh.
Several earlier "works of art" unsuccessfully whitewashed over the death of a father callously left to die in a lift in Belfast, as well as a few car bombs, mortar attacks, daily punishment beatings and knee-cappings.
Clearly the artists' ignorance of ceasefire breaches before and during the talks process has come home to roost.
Mo and Tony's Agreement formula for the sterilisation of the unclean doesn't work as the unclean do not fit the canvas presented to all desperate for peace.
Omagh is a large rip in that canvas and we now have restorers working overtime to mend this rip while ignoring the whole picture.
The agreement sculpted out of 30 years of terrorist butchery was stage managed to get the desired outcome.
Clearly the backroom promises and dealings change by the day as more and more concessions are squeezed out.
We had within the matter of a couple of days, prison releases by the Dublin government, followed by the sick and savage Omagh bombing. This
culminated in assurances that those responsible will be hunted down and put behind bars.
So, in the near future, don't be surprised if the Omagh bombers are elected into local or regional government, for it appears only to take a handshake from Mo or Tony to cleanse the uncleanable.
As in all wars, the innocent and the easily led volunteers die and the war-dog generals grow old.
The future will bear no change, as the tradeoffs with terrorists continue. Ongoing breaches of the Agreement will be ignored, the shabby process will continue no matter what the cost and the same words will be used to paint the desired picture.
JOHN ROSS,
Co. Down.
Further Information
Publisher: BELFAST TELEGRAPH
Ref: BT/0316
Published Date: 29-Aug-98
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