BLOODY PAST OF TERROR GODFATHERS
Bloody past of terror godfathers
FIVE months after the atrocity, those believed responsible for the Omagh bombing have been the centre of attention this week. No-one knows how close Conservative MP Andrew Hunter came to using parliamentary privilege to name the man they are convinced was responsible for the manufacture of the deadly device which killed 29 people and maimed scores more.
One thing is certain: security sources on both sides of the border are absolutely certain that they know the identities of those responsible, and while human rights must be protected, there is something seriously wrong with a legal system which permits known killers from any walk of life to walk the streets while their victims lie in cold graves.
Today the News Letter reveals that security sources have linked the Omagh ringleaders to a series of bloody sectarian atrocities stretching back almost a quarter of a century. In all that time, they have evaded capture, despite being under intense suspicion for bloody slaughters like the massacre of Protestant workmen in Kingsmill and the killing of members of the Orange Order at Tullyvallen.
Chillingly, these men have a record of operating both within and without the Provisional IRA movement according to the prevailing circumstances. The massacres in the 1970s were carried out while the Provisional IRA was on official ceasefire, under the guise of a breakaway group called the South Armagh Republican Action Group.
At a later date, after the IRA had broken its ceasefire, they re-joined the organisation and operated as key activists in a concentrated campaign against Protestants and the security forces.
These are worrying revelations, because they confirm that Provisional IRA personnel feel free to act as renegades during times of ceasefire, in the knowledge that they will be accepted back into the fold when experienced "operators" are required, thus seriously undermining the credibility of any cessation of violence.
Legal constraints and a due regard for the proper process of law prevent us from naming the people involved in these horrific acts. But this morning, we have an even better understanding of the frustrations which Andrew Hunter and his associates must feel.
FIVE months after the atrocity, those believed responsible for the Omagh bombing have been the centre of attention this week. No-one knows how close Conservative MP Andrew Hunter came to using parliamentary privilege to name the man they are convinced was responsible for the manufacture of the deadly device which killed 29 people and maimed scores more.
One thing is certain: security sources on both sides of the border are absolutely certain that they know the identities of those responsible, and while human rights must be protected, there is something seriously wrong with a legal system which permits known killers from any walk of life to walk the streets while their victims lie in cold graves.
Today the News Letter reveals that security sources have linked the Omagh ringleaders to a series of bloody sectarian atrocities stretching back almost a quarter of a century. In all that time, they have evaded capture, despite being under intense suspicion for bloody slaughters like the massacre of Protestant workmen in Kingsmill and the killing of members of the Orange Order at Tullyvallen.
Chillingly, these men have a record of operating both within and without the Provisional IRA movement according to the prevailing circumstances. The massacres in the 1970s were carried out while the Provisional IRA was on official ceasefire, under the guise of a breakaway group called the South Armagh Republican Action Group.
At a later date, after the IRA had broken its ceasefire, they re-joined the organisation and operated as key activists in a concentrated campaign against Protestants and the security forces.
These are worrying revelations, because they confirm that Provisional IRA personnel feel free to act as renegades during times of ceasefire, in the knowledge that they will be accepted back into the fold when experienced "operators" are required, thus seriously undermining the credibility of any cessation of violence.
Legal constraints and a due regard for the proper process of law prevent us from naming the people involved in these horrific acts. But this morning, we have an even better understanding of the frustrations which Andrew Hunter and his associates must feel.
Further Information
Publisher: NEWS LETTER
Ref: NL/185
Published Date: 22-Jan-99
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