MCKENNA NAMES MEN BEHIND THE BOMB
McKenna 'names men behind bomb'
Real IRA 'free' to get weapons
By JULIE O'CONNOR
A LEADING anti-terror campaigner has named two men he claimed were behind the Omagh bombing by the Real IRA, which led to the deaths of 29 people.
Vincent McKenna, a spokesman for Families Against Intimidation and Terror, named the two men while addressing 250 people at the annual UKUP conference, where he was a guest speaker.
Speaking after the conference he said he did not regret his decision and didn't believe the men would sue him.
Mr McKenna also claimed there was no way dissident republicans could have stolen arms from IRA dumps without it being sanctioned by the IRA leadership.
He said: "I know how these things work, nobody would be stupid enough to steal arms knowing that the punishment would be death."
He alleged that the Omagh bombers were able to "move freely" in south Armagh and that was how they got their hands on the arms.
The conference also heard Mr McKenna detail recent so-called punishment attacks and explain that the workload of FAIT had "increased dramatically" since the signing of the Good Friday Agreement.
Mr McKenna said 72 people were shot by paramilitaries last year, while 165 had been mutilated and hundreds more exiled and intimidated.
"Unless somebody seriously addresses terrorism and stops pandering to terrorism then we are in for difficult times," he said.
He accused the Government of effectively tolerating certain kinds of terrorist activity for political expediency.
"I think we are in a very dangerous situation where the Government is prepared to sub-contract terrorism to deal with other terrorism," he said.
The Government was also urged by UKUP leader Bob McCartney to act now to stop paramilitaries in Northern Ireland killing and maiming with impunity.
Mr McCartney told the party conference that prisoner releases should also be stopped in the light of the daily beatings and shootings.
"It now seems that republicans may kill, maim, and mutilate any number of Catholics, as can loyalists in relation to Protestants. But such activity will not amount to a breach of the ceasefire unless they kill each other," he said.
"What sort of morality is this? What sort of peace is this? What sort of worthwhile society can be built upon conduct such as this?
"The Secretary of State could, and should, declare that the present barbarities are breaches of the ceasefire and exclude both Sinn Fein and the PUP from the democratic process because they are clearly in breach of both the Mitchell principles and the Agreement itself."
Real IRA 'free' to get weapons
By JULIE O'CONNOR
A LEADING anti-terror campaigner has named two men he claimed were behind the Omagh bombing by the Real IRA, which led to the deaths of 29 people.
Vincent McKenna, a spokesman for Families Against Intimidation and Terror, named the two men while addressing 250 people at the annual UKUP conference, where he was a guest speaker.
Speaking after the conference he said he did not regret his decision and didn't believe the men would sue him.
Mr McKenna also claimed there was no way dissident republicans could have stolen arms from IRA dumps without it being sanctioned by the IRA leadership.
He said: "I know how these things work, nobody would be stupid enough to steal arms knowing that the punishment would be death."
He alleged that the Omagh bombers were able to "move freely" in south Armagh and that was how they got their hands on the arms.
The conference also heard Mr McKenna detail recent so-called punishment attacks and explain that the workload of FAIT had "increased dramatically" since the signing of the Good Friday Agreement.
Mr McKenna said 72 people were shot by paramilitaries last year, while 165 had been mutilated and hundreds more exiled and intimidated.
"Unless somebody seriously addresses terrorism and stops pandering to terrorism then we are in for difficult times," he said.
He accused the Government of effectively tolerating certain kinds of terrorist activity for political expediency.
"I think we are in a very dangerous situation where the Government is prepared to sub-contract terrorism to deal with other terrorism," he said.
The Government was also urged by UKUP leader Bob McCartney to act now to stop paramilitaries in Northern Ireland killing and maiming with impunity.
Mr McCartney told the party conference that prisoner releases should also be stopped in the light of the daily beatings and shootings.
"It now seems that republicans may kill, maim, and mutilate any number of Catholics, as can loyalists in relation to Protestants. But such activity will not amount to a breach of the ceasefire unless they kill each other," he said.
"What sort of morality is this? What sort of peace is this? What sort of worthwhile society can be built upon conduct such as this?
"The Secretary of State could, and should, declare that the present barbarities are breaches of the ceasefire and exclude both Sinn Fein and the PUP from the democratic process because they are clearly in breach of both the Mitchell principles and the Agreement itself."
Further Information
Publisher: NEWS LETTER
Ref: NL/196
Published Date: 08-Feb-99
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