DUP HITS OUT AT HYPE ON OMAGH
DUP man hits out at 'hype' on Omagh
By Chris Thornton
A DUP Assembly member whose niece died in the Omagh bomb has attacked the, "hype" surrounding the massacre's anniversary - saying it
has pushed other victims into "a backdrop of nothingness".
Oliver Gibson, whose niece Esther Gibson was among 29 people who died in the mast, said it was "a disgrace to pretend that there was ever only one bomb in Omagh or in west Tyrone".
He added: "In all the hype and publicity relating to the IRA atrocity of one year ago, there is indeed a great concern that 37 bombs, 1,200 shootings and a previous 97 murders have all been forgotten, ignored and in fact swept under a deep carpet of religious hypocrisy."
Mr Gibson claimed if the bomb had "killed 29 RUC, Army or RIR, or humble Protestants, then the streets of Omagh may not have been filled with the exuberance of sympathy so obviously generated one year on."
The Assembly member said the victims of every IRA murder should be remembered at commemoration ceremonies this weekend.
He did not mention other murders in his statement.
"Hijacking has always been the gimmick of the insincere and insecure," he said. "We who subscribe to the Christian standards, precepts and values have a sure and certain faith that is based on salvation through Jesus Christ our Lord."
By Chris Thornton
A DUP Assembly member whose niece died in the Omagh bomb has attacked the, "hype" surrounding the massacre's anniversary - saying it
has pushed other victims into "a backdrop of nothingness".
Oliver Gibson, whose niece Esther Gibson was among 29 people who died in the mast, said it was "a disgrace to pretend that there was ever only one bomb in Omagh or in west Tyrone".
He added: "In all the hype and publicity relating to the IRA atrocity of one year ago, there is indeed a great concern that 37 bombs, 1,200 shootings and a previous 97 murders have all been forgotten, ignored and in fact swept under a deep carpet of religious hypocrisy."
Mr Gibson claimed if the bomb had "killed 29 RUC, Army or RIR, or humble Protestants, then the streets of Omagh may not have been filled with the exuberance of sympathy so obviously generated one year on."
The Assembly member said the victims of every IRA murder should be remembered at commemoration ceremonies this weekend.
He did not mention other murders in his statement.
"Hijacking has always been the gimmick of the insincere and insecure," he said. "We who subscribe to the Christian standards, precepts and values have a sure and certain faith that is based on salvation through Jesus Christ our Lord."
Further Information
Publisher: BELFAST TELEGRAPH
Ref: BT/0583
Published Date: 11-Aug-99
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