WHY DID IT TAKE 25 YEARS TO ACT
Why did it take 25 years to act
AFTER the mass murders that took place at Enniskillen on remembrance Sunday, we were told that every necessary action would be taken to defeat the IRA.
Now more than a decade later new anti-terrorist measures have been announced by the government of the Republic. The question must be asked why, after more than 25 years of republican violence, did it take an Irish government so long to embark on such action?
There seems to be a suggestion that the Belfast agreement was in some way necessary before Draconian action could be taken against terrorists here in the Republic. Surely we did not need the agreement to know that all paramilitary gangs are fascists, depraved, and act against the interests of people who share this island? Nor was there ever majority support within either the nationalist, or unionist community for those who murdered in their name.
Following the Belfast agreement, the two governments should have made it clear that Draconian measures such as internment would be taken against any paramilitary group that persisted with violence.
It is generally believed that the identities of many individuals involved in republican violence throughout the years are known to the security forces here in the Republic. I believe that those who planned in the safety of their homes the Omagh outrage might well have had second thoughts had they lived in fear of internment.
Anthony Moriarty, Shanid Road, Kenilworth Park, Dublin 6W
AFTER the mass murders that took place at Enniskillen on remembrance Sunday, we were told that every necessary action would be taken to defeat the IRA.
Now more than a decade later new anti-terrorist measures have been announced by the government of the Republic. The question must be asked why, after more than 25 years of republican violence, did it take an Irish government so long to embark on such action?
There seems to be a suggestion that the Belfast agreement was in some way necessary before Draconian action could be taken against terrorists here in the Republic. Surely we did not need the agreement to know that all paramilitary gangs are fascists, depraved, and act against the interests of people who share this island? Nor was there ever majority support within either the nationalist, or unionist community for those who murdered in their name.
Following the Belfast agreement, the two governments should have made it clear that Draconian measures such as internment would be taken against any paramilitary group that persisted with violence.
It is generally believed that the identities of many individuals involved in republican violence throughout the years are known to the security forces here in the Republic. I believe that those who planned in the safety of their homes the Omagh outrage might well have had second thoughts had they lived in fear of internment.
Anthony Moriarty, Shanid Road, Kenilworth Park, Dublin 6W
Further Information
Publisher: THE IRISH NEWS
Ref: IN/0195
Published Date: 24-Aug-98
Related Images
There have been no images archived for this article.