TERRORIST THREAT MUST BE STOPPED
Terrorist threat must be stopped
IT is difficult to welcome the Real IRA's ceasefire with any degree of enthusiasm. The memories of Omagh and other attacks are still too fresh in our minds to greet anything the organisation does other than with disdain.
Prime Minister Tony Blair has reacted in exactly the right way, by giving a measured welcome to the announcement while at the same time promising that those responsible for the Omagh bombing, including the organisers and the planners as well as those who planted the deadly device, will be pursued relentlessly and made to serve appropriate prison sentences when they are convicted.
It is bad enough that many people responsible for heinous acts of violence against their fellow countrymen and the security forces are being released from prison this week, long before their full debt to society has been paid: it would be an unthinkable usurping of normal justice to afford the same leniency to people who have carried on with violence after any conceivable justification for their actions has been removed.
The public reaction to the Omagh atrocity has obviously played its part in bringing the ruthless criminals of the Real IRA to their senses, albeit belatedly. As PUP leader David Ervine said, those who believe that violence still has a place in our society have had the ground taken from under them.
This applies equally to those in the wider republican movement, including its political leaders, who, until the dreadful events of August 15, had reserved their position on the use of violence for political purposes, and to those in the loyalist community who were of similar disposition.
The ceasefire announcement does not remove concerns that some dissident republicans are still planning acts of violent sabotage against the Good Friday Agreement, if not through attacks on civilian and commercial targets, then through strikes against the security forces.
It is in this respect that the new legislation on both sides of the border must be seen to be effective. Thus far there is nothing to show for the emergency measures introduced by the two governments. Eire premier Bertie Ahern's contention that it played a significant part in forcing the Real IRA into a ceasefire is more a case of wishful thinking than of serious analysis.
While the Continuity IRA remains active, there is a likelihood that it will attempt to carry on the evil work formerly carried out by PIRA and the Real IRA, and by doing so attract into its ranks former members of both organisations who are still committed to "armed struggle".
Every security measure available to the British and Irish governments should be enforced to ensure that the threat they present does not result in another awful atrocity, whether perpetrated against the people of Northern Ireland, or the legitimate security forces.
IT is difficult to welcome the Real IRA's ceasefire with any degree of enthusiasm. The memories of Omagh and other attacks are still too fresh in our minds to greet anything the organisation does other than with disdain.
Prime Minister Tony Blair has reacted in exactly the right way, by giving a measured welcome to the announcement while at the same time promising that those responsible for the Omagh bombing, including the organisers and the planners as well as those who planted the deadly device, will be pursued relentlessly and made to serve appropriate prison sentences when they are convicted.
It is bad enough that many people responsible for heinous acts of violence against their fellow countrymen and the security forces are being released from prison this week, long before their full debt to society has been paid: it would be an unthinkable usurping of normal justice to afford the same leniency to people who have carried on with violence after any conceivable justification for their actions has been removed.
The public reaction to the Omagh atrocity has obviously played its part in bringing the ruthless criminals of the Real IRA to their senses, albeit belatedly. As PUP leader David Ervine said, those who believe that violence still has a place in our society have had the ground taken from under them.
This applies equally to those in the wider republican movement, including its political leaders, who, until the dreadful events of August 15, had reserved their position on the use of violence for political purposes, and to those in the loyalist community who were of similar disposition.
The ceasefire announcement does not remove concerns that some dissident republicans are still planning acts of violent sabotage against the Good Friday Agreement, if not through attacks on civilian and commercial targets, then through strikes against the security forces.
It is in this respect that the new legislation on both sides of the border must be seen to be effective. Thus far there is nothing to show for the emergency measures introduced by the two governments. Eire premier Bertie Ahern's contention that it played a significant part in forcing the Real IRA into a ceasefire is more a case of wishful thinking than of serious analysis.
While the Continuity IRA remains active, there is a likelihood that it will attempt to carry on the evil work formerly carried out by PIRA and the Real IRA, and by doing so attract into its ranks former members of both organisations who are still committed to "armed struggle".
Every security measure available to the British and Irish governments should be enforced to ensure that the threat they present does not result in another awful atrocity, whether perpetrated against the people of Northern Ireland, or the legitimate security forces.
Further Information
Publisher: NEWS LETTER
Ref: NL/289
Published Date: 09-Sep-98
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