UNITE AGAINST EVIL ENEMY
Unite against evil enemy
THE people who died in Omagh have paid the price for whatever peace the rest of us enjoy from this day on. And what a price - the mindless slaughter of men, women and children, cut down as they shopped in a busy market town on a Saturday afternoon.
There cannot be a single person in Northern Ireland who does not feel deeply affected by what happened.
Tears were shed not just in Omagh, but in towns and villages across the country as people tried to come to terms with the enormity of what happened.
The death toll included people from outside the town, from the Republic and visitors from Spain. What happened to them was nothing less than a crime against humanity.
The people who carried it out should be arraigned not just before a court in Northern Ireland or the Republic, but before the world.
It was an act every bit as dastardly as the murder of civilians in Bosnia or Rwanda.
At the front of everybody's minds today is an overwhelming feeling of sympathy for the bereaved and for those who have been left with appalling physical and mental injuries.
The victims include all those who witnessed the atrocity, the police officers, paramedics, doctors and nurses, and ordinary people who did what they could to help those caught up in the attack.
They must all be given support to overcome the trauma.
The remarkable heroism of those who survived and those who helped them was in marked contrast to the evil of those who manufactured, primed and planted the bomb.
We have spoken often in the past about the sanctity of human life. Each of those who died in Saturday's outrage was special. Each had the capacity to love and to enrich the lives of others. Each had the right to live their lives in peace and to die with dignity in the way nature intended.
Nobody deserved to lose their life on a summer's day, in a town where community relations were better than many, and at a time when everyone in Northern Ireland was hoping for a better future.
Over this weekend, ministers from all the main churches have been trying to bring comfort to the bereaved and the injured. Theirs is a thankless and almost impossible task. In the midst of such carnage, on the feast of the Assumption, God seems so far away.
The words of Psalm 10 seem so apt for this moment: "Why standest thou afar off, O Lord? Why hidest thou thyself in times of trouble? The wicked in his pride doth persecute the poor... he sitteth in the lurking places of the villages: in the secret places doth he murder the innocent."
But that prayer ends with confidence in God's ability to hear "the desire of the humble... that the man of the earth may no more oppress".
If we put our faith in God - rather than men of the earth - and if we put our faith in His message of peace and reconciliation, we will be able to overcome those who are determined to bend others to their will through violence.
And what of them: the members of the so-called Real IRA, their fellow travellers 32-County Sovereignty Committee, the Continuity IRA and its political wing Republican Sinn Fein, and the other republican dissidents.
Their evil campaign has no legitimacy and their support for continued violence is an act of contempt for the Irish people.
In May, across this island, people voted in overwhelming numbers for the peace settlement. The bombings since that vote, particularly Saturday's, are as close to an act of treason as it is possible to get.
When they are brought to justice - and they must be made accountable for their actions - they must be locked away without hope of remission.
The British and Irish governments have a solemn obligation to uphold the settlement which was ratified by the referendums and copper-fastened by the assembly elections.
A joint approach to eradicating these republican dissidents must be put together, as a matter of urgency.
The issue of selective internment, imposed simultaneously on both sides of the border, must be on the agenda. It is a viable option if widespread support for it can be achieved. Housing all internees in the Republic might take some of the political sting out of the measure.
Whatever action the governments take, the RUC and the Garda will be responsible for carrying it out. It is crucial that both organisations are given the fullest support.
The police men and women who dealt with the aftermath of this atrocity brought credit to the force.
People with information which could lead to the arrest of those responsible must make it available to the authorities.
At times like these, people look to their leaders for a sense of direction. In the main they lived up to their responsibilities.
Queen Elizabeth and President Mary McAleese spoke movingly on behalf of the British and Irish nations, and Tony Blair and Bertie Ahern gave political leadership.
The Church leaders too found the right words, focusing on the human and spiritual aspects of this appalling event.
Seamus Mallon, deputy first minister, was one of the first senior figures on the scene.
His words summed up the scale of the tragedy and the need for us all to focus, amid the despair, on the future.
Distance may have disadvantaged him, but David Trimble missed the mark by turning his wrath on Sinn Fein immediately rather than focusing on the appalling human tale of woe. He should have spoken for the whole community, not just his political constituency.
Whatever charges may be laid against the Provisional movement - and there are many - it was not responsible for this bombing.
Mr Trimble would not be first minister today were it not for the process Sinn Fein helped initiate and followed through to the referendums.
He was right, however, to call on the heads of the four main Churches to lead a day of national mourning for the victims. The people need a focus for their mourning and to express their detestation for those who carried it out.
True to form, the DUP used the atrocity to score petty political points. No comment is necessary.
So what of the peace process now? It has been damaged by this event, and by the series of attacks against it by its enemies in the republican and unionist families.
But, as Mr Blair and Mr Ahern have said, it is crucial that all those who believe democracy represents the only way forward for our society redouble their efforts.
The handful of people who make up the Real IRA must not be allowed to stand in the way of the expressed wish of the people of Ireland.
They cannot succeed if we all, Catholic and Protestant, nationalist and unionist, republican and loyalist, unite against them.
THE people who died in Omagh have paid the price for whatever peace the rest of us enjoy from this day on. And what a price - the mindless slaughter of men, women and children, cut down as they shopped in a busy market town on a Saturday afternoon.
There cannot be a single person in Northern Ireland who does not feel deeply affected by what happened.
Tears were shed not just in Omagh, but in towns and villages across the country as people tried to come to terms with the enormity of what happened.
The death toll included people from outside the town, from the Republic and visitors from Spain. What happened to them was nothing less than a crime against humanity.
The people who carried it out should be arraigned not just before a court in Northern Ireland or the Republic, but before the world.
It was an act every bit as dastardly as the murder of civilians in Bosnia or Rwanda.
At the front of everybody's minds today is an overwhelming feeling of sympathy for the bereaved and for those who have been left with appalling physical and mental injuries.
The victims include all those who witnessed the atrocity, the police officers, paramedics, doctors and nurses, and ordinary people who did what they could to help those caught up in the attack.
They must all be given support to overcome the trauma.
The remarkable heroism of those who survived and those who helped them was in marked contrast to the evil of those who manufactured, primed and planted the bomb.
We have spoken often in the past about the sanctity of human life. Each of those who died in Saturday's outrage was special. Each had the capacity to love and to enrich the lives of others. Each had the right to live their lives in peace and to die with dignity in the way nature intended.
Nobody deserved to lose their life on a summer's day, in a town where community relations were better than many, and at a time when everyone in Northern Ireland was hoping for a better future.
Over this weekend, ministers from all the main churches have been trying to bring comfort to the bereaved and the injured. Theirs is a thankless and almost impossible task. In the midst of such carnage, on the feast of the Assumption, God seems so far away.
The words of Psalm 10 seem so apt for this moment: "Why standest thou afar off, O Lord? Why hidest thou thyself in times of trouble? The wicked in his pride doth persecute the poor... he sitteth in the lurking places of the villages: in the secret places doth he murder the innocent."
But that prayer ends with confidence in God's ability to hear "the desire of the humble... that the man of the earth may no more oppress".
If we put our faith in God - rather than men of the earth - and if we put our faith in His message of peace and reconciliation, we will be able to overcome those who are determined to bend others to their will through violence.
And what of them: the members of the so-called Real IRA, their fellow travellers 32-County Sovereignty Committee, the Continuity IRA and its political wing Republican Sinn Fein, and the other republican dissidents.
Their evil campaign has no legitimacy and their support for continued violence is an act of contempt for the Irish people.
In May, across this island, people voted in overwhelming numbers for the peace settlement. The bombings since that vote, particularly Saturday's, are as close to an act of treason as it is possible to get.
When they are brought to justice - and they must be made accountable for their actions - they must be locked away without hope of remission.
The British and Irish governments have a solemn obligation to uphold the settlement which was ratified by the referendums and copper-fastened by the assembly elections.
A joint approach to eradicating these republican dissidents must be put together, as a matter of urgency.
The issue of selective internment, imposed simultaneously on both sides of the border, must be on the agenda. It is a viable option if widespread support for it can be achieved. Housing all internees in the Republic might take some of the political sting out of the measure.
Whatever action the governments take, the RUC and the Garda will be responsible for carrying it out. It is crucial that both organisations are given the fullest support.
The police men and women who dealt with the aftermath of this atrocity brought credit to the force.
People with information which could lead to the arrest of those responsible must make it available to the authorities.
At times like these, people look to their leaders for a sense of direction. In the main they lived up to their responsibilities.
Queen Elizabeth and President Mary McAleese spoke movingly on behalf of the British and Irish nations, and Tony Blair and Bertie Ahern gave political leadership.
The Church leaders too found the right words, focusing on the human and spiritual aspects of this appalling event.
Seamus Mallon, deputy first minister, was one of the first senior figures on the scene.
His words summed up the scale of the tragedy and the need for us all to focus, amid the despair, on the future.
Distance may have disadvantaged him, but David Trimble missed the mark by turning his wrath on Sinn Fein immediately rather than focusing on the appalling human tale of woe. He should have spoken for the whole community, not just his political constituency.
Whatever charges may be laid against the Provisional movement - and there are many - it was not responsible for this bombing.
Mr Trimble would not be first minister today were it not for the process Sinn Fein helped initiate and followed through to the referendums.
He was right, however, to call on the heads of the four main Churches to lead a day of national mourning for the victims. The people need a focus for their mourning and to express their detestation for those who carried it out.
True to form, the DUP used the atrocity to score petty political points. No comment is necessary.
So what of the peace process now? It has been damaged by this event, and by the series of attacks against it by its enemies in the republican and unionist families.
But, as Mr Blair and Mr Ahern have said, it is crucial that all those who believe democracy represents the only way forward for our society redouble their efforts.
The handful of people who make up the Real IRA must not be allowed to stand in the way of the expressed wish of the people of Ireland.
They cannot succeed if we all, Catholic and Protestant, nationalist and unionist, republican and loyalist, unite against them.
Further Information
Publisher: THE IRISH NEWS
Ref: IN/0032
Published Date: 17-Aug-98
Related Images
