WE' LL KILL THE BOMB-MAKER
Well kill the bomb-maker
IRA threat if Omagh mastermind is named in Commons
REPUBLICANS have threatened to execute the Omagh bomber if he is named in the House of Commons today.
Top IRA brass based near the border told the News Letter they had tolerated the Omagh bombers returning to their homes in the town itself, in Carrickmacross and Dundalk, after the explosion, on the condition they declared a ceasefire and laid low.
But last night they told how they now fear a naming in the Commons could spark another public backlash against the bombers and the republican movement like that which followed the blast.
Such a move would leave them with no other option but to rid themselves of the men who have become a thorn in their side.
A source told the News Letter: "We've always known who the bombers were and where they were. And yes, the Real IRA was told to call a ceasefire and these boys were told to keep quiet and lie low.
"The reality is that these men still had some usefulness and knowledge. They could still be of use if they were ever needed again.
"But if one of them or all of them are named, the IRA has to be seen to be doing something to punish them.
"If this man is named and he's got any sense, he'll leave the country for good - or look over his shoulder for ever more."
Meanwhile speculation as to whether Tory MP Andrew Hunter will 'out' the bomb manufacturer and six other Ulster terrorists during Northern Ireland Question Time this afternoon was intensifying last night.
Andrew Mackay had backed out of the plan, but Andrew Hunter was adamant he was still going ahead with it.
Although he said he might abandon plans to name the Omagh bomber - in the wake of increasing pressure to do so from RUC Chief Constable Sir Ronnie Flanagan, the CAJ and Mo Mowlam - he vowed to expose three republican terrorists, one an early-release prisoner, and three loyalists, who he claims were behind a string of brutal beatings and shootings carried out since the Good Friday signing.
But Sir Ronnie said of such a move: "It could be prejudicial to the prospect of successfully bringing before the courts those involved in such crimes.
"This applies particularly to the Omagh atrocity, in which, while there is continuing ground for optimism that those responsible will be prosecuted, there is not yet sufficient evidence to place those responsible before the courts."
Fait development officer Vincent McKenna, who has been heavily involved in supplying Mr Hunter with his information on the punishment squad leaders, said he was still hopeful the man who made the Omagh bomb would be named, as did members of South Armagh-based victims' group Fair.
Mr Hunter last night met with Mo Mowlam to thrash out the controversial issue.
IRA threat if Omagh mastermind is named in Commons
REPUBLICANS have threatened to execute the Omagh bomber if he is named in the House of Commons today.
Top IRA brass based near the border told the News Letter they had tolerated the Omagh bombers returning to their homes in the town itself, in Carrickmacross and Dundalk, after the explosion, on the condition they declared a ceasefire and laid low.
But last night they told how they now fear a naming in the Commons could spark another public backlash against the bombers and the republican movement like that which followed the blast.
Such a move would leave them with no other option but to rid themselves of the men who have become a thorn in their side.
A source told the News Letter: "We've always known who the bombers were and where they were. And yes, the Real IRA was told to call a ceasefire and these boys were told to keep quiet and lie low.
"The reality is that these men still had some usefulness and knowledge. They could still be of use if they were ever needed again.
"But if one of them or all of them are named, the IRA has to be seen to be doing something to punish them.
"If this man is named and he's got any sense, he'll leave the country for good - or look over his shoulder for ever more."
Meanwhile speculation as to whether Tory MP Andrew Hunter will 'out' the bomb manufacturer and six other Ulster terrorists during Northern Ireland Question Time this afternoon was intensifying last night.
Andrew Mackay had backed out of the plan, but Andrew Hunter was adamant he was still going ahead with it.
Although he said he might abandon plans to name the Omagh bomber - in the wake of increasing pressure to do so from RUC Chief Constable Sir Ronnie Flanagan, the CAJ and Mo Mowlam - he vowed to expose three republican terrorists, one an early-release prisoner, and three loyalists, who he claims were behind a string of brutal beatings and shootings carried out since the Good Friday signing.
But Sir Ronnie said of such a move: "It could be prejudicial to the prospect of successfully bringing before the courts those involved in such crimes.
"This applies particularly to the Omagh atrocity, in which, while there is continuing ground for optimism that those responsible will be prosecuted, there is not yet sufficient evidence to place those responsible before the courts."
Fait development officer Vincent McKenna, who has been heavily involved in supplying Mr Hunter with his information on the punishment squad leaders, said he was still hopeful the man who made the Omagh bomb would be named, as did members of South Armagh-based victims' group Fair.
Mr Hunter last night met with Mo Mowlam to thrash out the controversial issue.
Further Information
Publisher: NEWS LETTER
Ref: NL/179
Published Date: 20-Jan-99
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