YOU'LL DO YOUR TIME
You'll do your time
By MERVYN PAULEY
THERE will be no mercy shown to the Omagh bombers, Prime Minister Tony Blair pledged last night.
When caught, they would serve their full term in prison with no hope of early release despite the Real IRA ceasefire, he pledged.
As both London and Dublin welcomed the renegade terror group's announcement that it had called a permanent halt to its violence, Mr Blair insisted they would find no hiding place but be relentlessly hunted down.
He vowed: "We will continue to pursue those responsible for the Omagh bomb, those who organised it, those who carried it out."
And he made it clear there would be no short spell in prison for those responsible when they were caught. "There is no provision at all for any early release for anyone who has committed an offence after April 10, which was when the peace agreement was signed," he said.
His Dublin counterpart Bertie Ahern pledged the "unrelenting determination" of both governments to hunt down those responsible for the deaths of 29 people in Northern Ireland's worst atrocity.
First Minister David Trimble said: "I am glad that these people have come to their senses and realised the futility of their actions.
"That doesn't change the enormity of what they have done and their culpability for it."
SDLP leader John Hume said the ceasefire must mark a permanent end to violence in Ireland.
"Let us now devote all our energies to building a new society in a totally peaceful atmosphere," he said.
Only hours before the Real IRA ceasefire announcement, the still-active Continuity IRA said their struggle continued against British forces in Northern Ireland.
A week ago, north and south of the border, Real IRA members had a knock at the door.
On their doorsteps they found leading republicans who delivered a blunt message from the Provisional IRA Army Council - stop now or face the consequences.
They were given 14 days to stand down or "action would be taken".
Those who got the message knew what it meant - they would be shot dead.
Across Northern Ireland there was a welcome for the announcement that the killers had stopped.
But in Omagh, while welcomed, it was too late to lift the heartbreak.
By MERVYN PAULEY
THERE will be no mercy shown to the Omagh bombers, Prime Minister Tony Blair pledged last night.
When caught, they would serve their full term in prison with no hope of early release despite the Real IRA ceasefire, he pledged.
As both London and Dublin welcomed the renegade terror group's announcement that it had called a permanent halt to its violence, Mr Blair insisted they would find no hiding place but be relentlessly hunted down.
He vowed: "We will continue to pursue those responsible for the Omagh bomb, those who organised it, those who carried it out."
And he made it clear there would be no short spell in prison for those responsible when they were caught. "There is no provision at all for any early release for anyone who has committed an offence after April 10, which was when the peace agreement was signed," he said.
His Dublin counterpart Bertie Ahern pledged the "unrelenting determination" of both governments to hunt down those responsible for the deaths of 29 people in Northern Ireland's worst atrocity.
First Minister David Trimble said: "I am glad that these people have come to their senses and realised the futility of their actions.
"That doesn't change the enormity of what they have done and their culpability for it."
SDLP leader John Hume said the ceasefire must mark a permanent end to violence in Ireland.
"Let us now devote all our energies to building a new society in a totally peaceful atmosphere," he said.
Only hours before the Real IRA ceasefire announcement, the still-active Continuity IRA said their struggle continued against British forces in Northern Ireland.
A week ago, north and south of the border, Real IRA members had a knock at the door.
On their doorsteps they found leading republicans who delivered a blunt message from the Provisional IRA Army Council - stop now or face the consequences.
They were given 14 days to stand down or "action would be taken".
Those who got the message knew what it meant - they would be shot dead.
Across Northern Ireland there was a welcome for the announcement that the killers had stopped.
But in Omagh, while welcomed, it was too late to lift the heartbreak.
Further Information
Publisher: NEWS LETTER
Ref: NL/287
Published Date: 09-Sep-98
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