OMAGH RELTIVES GET SOME JUSTICE
Omagh relatives get some justice
MURPHY VERDICT: Now the efforts to bring all of the bombers to book must be intensified
At last some justice has been seen to be done in the case of the Omagh bomb, which killed 29 people in August 1998. The conviction of Colm Murphy, a veteran republican from Co Armagh, who lent two mobile phones to the bombers, knowing they would be used in the movement of explosives, is a credit to the RUC, the Garda and Dublin's special non-jury court.
Many more were involved in the crime - most obviously the people who received the mobiles and used them on their way to and from Omagh - and the investigation must be vigorously pursued. Now that the public have a clearer picture of what happened on that tragic day, and the route of the bombers, there will be irresistible pressure on the police on both sides of the border to take the case to its logical conclusion.
Whatever sentence is passed on Friday, it cannot begin to meet the enormity of the crime. It was simply the worst single atrocity of the Troubles and, now that the ice has been broken, others who have evidence to give should feel an even greater obligation to come forward.
By coincidence, the conclusion to the Murphy case comes just as the Chief Constable, Sir Ronnie Flanagan, is poised to issue his rebuttal to the criticism of him and the original RUC investigation by the Police Ombudsman, Nuala O'Loan.
So many accusations have been flying about the police's reaction before and after the bomb that the public is in a state of some confusion. What people need are the facts, not one-sided interpretations or rumours of missing documents, and they would be reluctant to hear that yet another investigation is necessary.
The conviction of Murphy should be the breakthrough which the relatives of the Omagh victims, including the 300 injured, have been hoping for. But even if it is not, and the actual bombers are beyond reach of criminal proceedings, a civil case against Mr Murphy - a wealthy building contractor and pub owner - and the Real IRA suspects should be feasible, if the legal costs can be raised.
Peter Mandelson has lent valuable support, both moral and financial, to the civil suit, which demands a lesser standard of proof.
The message which the Special Court, backed up by Bertie Ahern, has conveyed to active paramilitaries of all varieties is that there is no hiding place for them. They will be held to account, one way or another, and the victims' relatives must know that justice is being done. That is the least that society owes them.
MURPHY VERDICT: Now the efforts to bring all of the bombers to book must be intensified
At last some justice has been seen to be done in the case of the Omagh bomb, which killed 29 people in August 1998. The conviction of Colm Murphy, a veteran republican from Co Armagh, who lent two mobile phones to the bombers, knowing they would be used in the movement of explosives, is a credit to the RUC, the Garda and Dublin's special non-jury court.
Many more were involved in the crime - most obviously the people who received the mobiles and used them on their way to and from Omagh - and the investigation must be vigorously pursued. Now that the public have a clearer picture of what happened on that tragic day, and the route of the bombers, there will be irresistible pressure on the police on both sides of the border to take the case to its logical conclusion.
Whatever sentence is passed on Friday, it cannot begin to meet the enormity of the crime. It was simply the worst single atrocity of the Troubles and, now that the ice has been broken, others who have evidence to give should feel an even greater obligation to come forward.
By coincidence, the conclusion to the Murphy case comes just as the Chief Constable, Sir Ronnie Flanagan, is poised to issue his rebuttal to the criticism of him and the original RUC investigation by the Police Ombudsman, Nuala O'Loan.
So many accusations have been flying about the police's reaction before and after the bomb that the public is in a state of some confusion. What people need are the facts, not one-sided interpretations or rumours of missing documents, and they would be reluctant to hear that yet another investigation is necessary.
The conviction of Murphy should be the breakthrough which the relatives of the Omagh victims, including the 300 injured, have been hoping for. But even if it is not, and the actual bombers are beyond reach of criminal proceedings, a civil case against Mr Murphy - a wealthy building contractor and pub owner - and the Real IRA suspects should be feasible, if the legal costs can be raised.
Peter Mandelson has lent valuable support, both moral and financial, to the civil suit, which demands a lesser standard of proof.
The message which the Special Court, backed up by Bertie Ahern, has conveyed to active paramilitaries of all varieties is that there is no hiding place for them. They will be held to account, one way or another, and the victims' relatives must know that justice is being done. That is the least that society owes them.
Further Information
Publisher: BELFAST TELEGRAPH
Ref: BT/0823
Published Date: 23-Jan-02
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