OMAGH KILLERS KNEW PEACE WAS IN SIGHT
Omagh killers knew peace was in sight
Seamus Mallon, deputy first minister in the Northern Ireland executive
explains why the tragedy of Omagh means that new political arrangements in Northern Ireland must be made to work
UNDERLYING all the feelings of shock, horror and revulsion at the appalling act of terrorism in Omagh, there is a huge ground swell of rage, grief and anguished disbelief.
Why now, just when we thought that peace was an attainable goal? After the last 30 years of horror, the overwhelming majority of the people of Ireland, north and south, gave out a resounding message of support for the Good Friday agreement. They made a unified call for peace.
It is precisely because we are in sight of that goal that the terrorists struck.
The people responsible are a tiny minority, who are determined to prevent the achievement of a peaceful solution in Northern Ireland. They represent no-one but themselves and they have nothing to offer but death and destruction.
Make no mistake about it - what we have seen in Omagh - the carnage, the suffering, the destruction and the total disregard for human life - this is the alternative to the peace process. The intention of these people is clearly to undermine that process, which was so well begun last May.
They are not mindless or confused. They knew exactly what they were doing in Omagh. They set a bomb at one end of the street and told the police it was at the other end, with devastating consequences.
They think they have a right to continue with a campaign of violence irrespective of the clear wishes of the people in Ireland, north and south. Theirs is a small but lethal faction, which has gone beyond the pale now.
They know it, and they should accept it and lay down their weapons along with their mindset.
Somehow, we have now to transcend that grief while simultaneously sharing in the horror of it.
If, as John Hume put it, there is to be an eternal monument to those who died -and that is the very least we can offer - then that should be a monument to peace. Let us make sure that there can never be another act of carnage like this.
If terrorism has no supporters, it will not thrive. If people do not want violence, if they absolutely reject that approach, then terrorism will wither and die.
If peace is to become that kind of living tribute, we must be united in our determination to crush violence and use democratic structures to achieve a new society.
Violence has no role in shaping the future and those who perpetrate violence have no place in any civilised society.
People are united now, as perhaps they have never been before. Politicians and the security services have made their commitment to convicting the terrorists absolutely unequivocal.
There is no margin of fudge or suggestion of ambivalence in what the RUC chief constable and the commissioner of the Garda Siochana have said on this subject.
The prime minister and the taoiseach have made equally clear their shoulder-to-shoulder pursuit of the same objectives. If anyone has any information, however little, they should pass it to the authorities without delay.
We can't rebuild the lives that were destroyed in Omagh. But we can ensure that we achieve something constructive out of the calamity.
The people of Northern Ireland are very resilient and they will rise above this tragedy. They made their wishes very clear when they voted at the referendum. They know that the process upon which we are now embarked is the only way forward. They have voted their political
representatives into power to deliver it.
There is no place in this process for the carnage, suffering and destruction we have witnessed.
The political negotiations included virtually every possible shade of democratic conviction and we arrived at the Good Friday agreement.
It would be very foolish, and an unforgivable insult to those who have died, to abandon that fundamental objective.
I am absolutely convinced that the new political arrangements can be and will be made to work. It is the only way our problems can be resolved. The peace process must proceed with urgency and conviction.
We must now concentrate all of our energies and our vision to overcome the legacy of this and other terrible deeds
We must offer the leadership and create the society that the people of Northern Ireland yearn for.
We must continue to seek consensus on our future. Even in the dark days in the aftermath of Omagh there has been a determination that the wreckers will not be allowed to succeed.
That spirit is reflected in the sterling work of the security and emergency services and all those ordinary people whose selfless and magnificent efforts have done so much to ease the pain and suffering.
The people of Northern Ireland have agreed to change and violence will not alter that fundamental fact.
Let us all now redouble our efforts and lay the foundations of lasting peace - the most fitting memorial to the shattered community of Omagh.
Seamus Mallon, deputy first minister in the Northern Ireland executive
explains why the tragedy of Omagh means that new political arrangements in Northern Ireland must be made to work
UNDERLYING all the feelings of shock, horror and revulsion at the appalling act of terrorism in Omagh, there is a huge ground swell of rage, grief and anguished disbelief.
Why now, just when we thought that peace was an attainable goal? After the last 30 years of horror, the overwhelming majority of the people of Ireland, north and south, gave out a resounding message of support for the Good Friday agreement. They made a unified call for peace.
It is precisely because we are in sight of that goal that the terrorists struck.
The people responsible are a tiny minority, who are determined to prevent the achievement of a peaceful solution in Northern Ireland. They represent no-one but themselves and they have nothing to offer but death and destruction.
Make no mistake about it - what we have seen in Omagh - the carnage, the suffering, the destruction and the total disregard for human life - this is the alternative to the peace process. The intention of these people is clearly to undermine that process, which was so well begun last May.
They are not mindless or confused. They knew exactly what they were doing in Omagh. They set a bomb at one end of the street and told the police it was at the other end, with devastating consequences.
They think they have a right to continue with a campaign of violence irrespective of the clear wishes of the people in Ireland, north and south. Theirs is a small but lethal faction, which has gone beyond the pale now.
They know it, and they should accept it and lay down their weapons along with their mindset.
Somehow, we have now to transcend that grief while simultaneously sharing in the horror of it.
If, as John Hume put it, there is to be an eternal monument to those who died -and that is the very least we can offer - then that should be a monument to peace. Let us make sure that there can never be another act of carnage like this.
If terrorism has no supporters, it will not thrive. If people do not want violence, if they absolutely reject that approach, then terrorism will wither and die.
If peace is to become that kind of living tribute, we must be united in our determination to crush violence and use democratic structures to achieve a new society.
Violence has no role in shaping the future and those who perpetrate violence have no place in any civilised society.
People are united now, as perhaps they have never been before. Politicians and the security services have made their commitment to convicting the terrorists absolutely unequivocal.
There is no margin of fudge or suggestion of ambivalence in what the RUC chief constable and the commissioner of the Garda Siochana have said on this subject.
The prime minister and the taoiseach have made equally clear their shoulder-to-shoulder pursuit of the same objectives. If anyone has any information, however little, they should pass it to the authorities without delay.
We can't rebuild the lives that were destroyed in Omagh. But we can ensure that we achieve something constructive out of the calamity.
The people of Northern Ireland are very resilient and they will rise above this tragedy. They made their wishes very clear when they voted at the referendum. They know that the process upon which we are now embarked is the only way forward. They have voted their political
representatives into power to deliver it.
There is no place in this process for the carnage, suffering and destruction we have witnessed.
The political negotiations included virtually every possible shade of democratic conviction and we arrived at the Good Friday agreement.
It would be very foolish, and an unforgivable insult to those who have died, to abandon that fundamental objective.
I am absolutely convinced that the new political arrangements can be and will be made to work. It is the only way our problems can be resolved. The peace process must proceed with urgency and conviction.
We must now concentrate all of our energies and our vision to overcome the legacy of this and other terrible deeds
We must offer the leadership and create the society that the people of Northern Ireland yearn for.
We must continue to seek consensus on our future. Even in the dark days in the aftermath of Omagh there has been a determination that the wreckers will not be allowed to succeed.
That spirit is reflected in the sterling work of the security and emergency services and all those ordinary people whose selfless and magnificent efforts have done so much to ease the pain and suffering.
The people of Northern Ireland have agreed to change and violence will not alter that fundamental fact.
Let us all now redouble our efforts and lay the foundations of lasting peace - the most fitting memorial to the shattered community of Omagh.
Further Information
Publisher: THE IRISH NEWS
Ref: IN/0091
Published Date: 19-Aug-98
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