NOT A CHEEP FROM TONY
Not a cheep from Tony
LAST week in this column I wrote a letter to Prime Minister Tony Blair in which I tried to outline the very great sense of despair and hopelessness felt by so many ordinary people here in the wake of the Omagh bombing.
I questioned his handling of the crisis and his approach.
If Omagh had been Liverpool or Glasgow or some other town or city where people can vote for the Labour party, I wondered, would he not have gone there immediately to register his concern and his outrage?
I noted his comments that in the aftermath of the atrocity the Government would "take whatever sensible security measures we can to crush the rump of dissidents" and asked why those measures couldn't have been taken BEFORE Omagh.
I also worried (I still worry) about Mr Blair's comment that "this small group of dissidents do not represent anyone, anywhere."
I felt this was meant as an assurance that lack of widespread public support effectively neuters terrorism. It doesn't.
Those who represent themselves alone can still cause devastation and murder on a ghastly scale.
And adverse public opinion can not in itself call a halt to brutality and bloodshed. In the aftermath of Omagh, the people of Northern Ireland have been united as never before in their revulsion at terrorism.
But to pluck just one simple statistic from the fortnight SINCE the atrocity - within 48 hours this week, three men were admitted to hospital suffering from wounds (including gunshot wounds) inflicted on them by paramilitary gangs.
The terrorists haven't gone away you know.
And, neither as I spelt out last week, has their access to arms and explosives.
The whole issue of decommissioning concerns many, many people here, not because they see it as a way of scoring political points but because they're worried at a very basic level about what's out there and who can lay their hands on it.
It's about commonsense. You wouldn't rest easy on the word of a drug dealer that he'd opted for a career change unless you had some evidence that he'd at least flushed the E tabs down the loo. For, even if you trusted HIM, you'd worry about the chances of his former associates getting their hands on his cache.
Finally in my letter I tried to explain to Mr Blair the very real sense of despair so many people, particularly parents, in Northern Ireland feel after the events of this terrible summer.
In this column, I have previously referred to a Pollyanna side to my nature. I am at heart an optimist. I try to be positive and constructive.
But to have written last week that I felt any sense of hope would have been a blatant lie.
And I was not and am not the only one to feel that way.
In the past few days I have been swamped with calls, cards, and letters from readers from all over Northern Ireland, from all persuasions backing the comments I made.
Time and time again people wrote and said: "You summed up how I feel."
I have personally had one (anonymous) letter of criticism. And in today's Writeback column, a Letter to the Editor also takes me to task.
But even I am stunned by the feedback there has been from readers who agree with me. It is the largest mailbag I have ever received for any column I have written. It has also been the most supportive.
The people who wrote to me obviously did not intend their letters for publication so without revealing names, here are a few excerpts:
"Everything you wrote seemed to be exactly how I felt. Please make sure Mr Blair receives your letter. The politicians trotted out the usual
speeches and left. I wonder does anyone believe a word they say:..."
"You expressed the exact thoughts of so many of us and I will await with interest to see if he has the decency to reply to you. I wish I could let Tony Blair know I support every word in your letter 100%..."
"...you were quite right to contradict the notion of 'determination'. Your description of the despair felt by everyone is much more relevant and accurate..."
"...I have never commented on articles before. I hope and pray Mr Blair reads it and we can only hope he heeds it..."
".I identify with every word and was so glad that my feelings were put into print..."
"The article echoed my feelings about the Omagh atrocity so accurately, I felt I had to write..."
"These are the sentiments of so many of us..."
"It captured the feeling ofthe country so well..."
I am not quoting from these letters as some sort of exercise in self promotion. It does not take tremendous journalistic skills to convey how people are feeling at this time. But if I were Mr Blair, these readers' comments would bother me.
And surprisingly, I still haven't had a cheep from Mr Blair.
I say "surprisingly" because while he has obviously had more important matters to deal with this week, Tony Blair is the leader of the Government and party which more than any other in history has prided itself on image and being seen to be responsive to public concerns.
This after all is the People's Premier. Maybe I should have enclosed an SAE...
Maybe I should have penned an open letter to Bill Clinton instead this week, asking that he pass it on.
Maybe Mr Blair and his advisors have a policy of not replying to unsolicited mail.
Or maybe, he just feels my comments, carried on a full page of the largest circulation newspaper in Northern Ireland, were not representative, were of no consequence and did not merit a reply.
I began my letter last week with the observation that I don't make a habit of writing to Prime Ministers. So why write on the same subject for the second week running?
I didn't have a choice really.
For when I read all those other letters I received this week, I saw in them the same despair and concern I voiced last week.
And in the immortal words of those Royal Mail ads which continually exort us to keep up the letter writing, I saw this Mr Blair, and I thought of you.
LAST week in this column I wrote a letter to Prime Minister Tony Blair in which I tried to outline the very great sense of despair and hopelessness felt by so many ordinary people here in the wake of the Omagh bombing.
I questioned his handling of the crisis and his approach.
If Omagh had been Liverpool or Glasgow or some other town or city where people can vote for the Labour party, I wondered, would he not have gone there immediately to register his concern and his outrage?
I noted his comments that in the aftermath of the atrocity the Government would "take whatever sensible security measures we can to crush the rump of dissidents" and asked why those measures couldn't have been taken BEFORE Omagh.
I also worried (I still worry) about Mr Blair's comment that "this small group of dissidents do not represent anyone, anywhere."
I felt this was meant as an assurance that lack of widespread public support effectively neuters terrorism. It doesn't.
Those who represent themselves alone can still cause devastation and murder on a ghastly scale.
And adverse public opinion can not in itself call a halt to brutality and bloodshed. In the aftermath of Omagh, the people of Northern Ireland have been united as never before in their revulsion at terrorism.
But to pluck just one simple statistic from the fortnight SINCE the atrocity - within 48 hours this week, three men were admitted to hospital suffering from wounds (including gunshot wounds) inflicted on them by paramilitary gangs.
The terrorists haven't gone away you know.
And, neither as I spelt out last week, has their access to arms and explosives.
The whole issue of decommissioning concerns many, many people here, not because they see it as a way of scoring political points but because they're worried at a very basic level about what's out there and who can lay their hands on it.
It's about commonsense. You wouldn't rest easy on the word of a drug dealer that he'd opted for a career change unless you had some evidence that he'd at least flushed the E tabs down the loo. For, even if you trusted HIM, you'd worry about the chances of his former associates getting their hands on his cache.
Finally in my letter I tried to explain to Mr Blair the very real sense of despair so many people, particularly parents, in Northern Ireland feel after the events of this terrible summer.
In this column, I have previously referred to a Pollyanna side to my nature. I am at heart an optimist. I try to be positive and constructive.
But to have written last week that I felt any sense of hope would have been a blatant lie.
And I was not and am not the only one to feel that way.
In the past few days I have been swamped with calls, cards, and letters from readers from all over Northern Ireland, from all persuasions backing the comments I made.
Time and time again people wrote and said: "You summed up how I feel."
I have personally had one (anonymous) letter of criticism. And in today's Writeback column, a Letter to the Editor also takes me to task.
But even I am stunned by the feedback there has been from readers who agree with me. It is the largest mailbag I have ever received for any column I have written. It has also been the most supportive.
The people who wrote to me obviously did not intend their letters for publication so without revealing names, here are a few excerpts:
"Everything you wrote seemed to be exactly how I felt. Please make sure Mr Blair receives your letter. The politicians trotted out the usual
speeches and left. I wonder does anyone believe a word they say:..."
"You expressed the exact thoughts of so many of us and I will await with interest to see if he has the decency to reply to you. I wish I could let Tony Blair know I support every word in your letter 100%..."
"...you were quite right to contradict the notion of 'determination'. Your description of the despair felt by everyone is much more relevant and accurate..."
"...I have never commented on articles before. I hope and pray Mr Blair reads it and we can only hope he heeds it..."
".I identify with every word and was so glad that my feelings were put into print..."
"The article echoed my feelings about the Omagh atrocity so accurately, I felt I had to write..."
"These are the sentiments of so many of us..."
"It captured the feeling ofthe country so well..."
I am not quoting from these letters as some sort of exercise in self promotion. It does not take tremendous journalistic skills to convey how people are feeling at this time. But if I were Mr Blair, these readers' comments would bother me.
And surprisingly, I still haven't had a cheep from Mr Blair.
I say "surprisingly" because while he has obviously had more important matters to deal with this week, Tony Blair is the leader of the Government and party which more than any other in history has prided itself on image and being seen to be responsive to public concerns.
This after all is the People's Premier. Maybe I should have enclosed an SAE...
Maybe I should have penned an open letter to Bill Clinton instead this week, asking that he pass it on.
Maybe Mr Blair and his advisors have a policy of not replying to unsolicited mail.
Or maybe, he just feels my comments, carried on a full page of the largest circulation newspaper in Northern Ireland, were not representative, were of no consequence and did not merit a reply.
I began my letter last week with the observation that I don't make a habit of writing to Prime Ministers. So why write on the same subject for the second week running?
I didn't have a choice really.
For when I read all those other letters I received this week, I saw in them the same despair and concern I voiced last week.
And in the immortal words of those Royal Mail ads which continually exort us to keep up the letter writing, I saw this Mr Blair, and I thought of you.
Further Information
Publisher: BELFAST TELEGRAPH
Ref: BT/0320
Published Date: 29-Aug-98
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