WORLD'S LEADERS SLAM THIS ACT OF SAVAGERY
WORLD'S LEADERS SLAM THIS 'ACT OF SAVAGERY'
THE QUEEN last night led the condemnation of the slaughter.
In a statement, she said: "I was shocked to hear of the appalling crime in Omagh, which resulted in so many deaths and injuries.
"Please pass my heartfelt sympathy to the bereaved, injured and those others who have suffered in their distress."
And Prime Minister Tony Blair branded the bombing "an act of savagery. " He vowed those responsible would be brought to justice.
"There is total determination to bring the perpetrators to justice but an equal determination that they will not be allowed to destroy the process," he said. President Clinton tonight condemned the "butchery" in Omagh.
He said: "I renew my pledge to stand with the people of Northern Ireland against the perpetrators of violence; they will find no friends here."
He called the terrorist blast "a barbaric act intended to wreck Northern Ireland's aspirations for peace and reconciliation.
"On behalf of the American people, I condemn this butchery," he added.
Former Irish premier John Bruton called for an all-Ireland security strategy and said the "people who had perpetrated the Omagh bombing were addicted to violence and have no place in a civilised society."
Irish President Mary McAleese said she was deeply shocked.
Taoiseach Bertie Ahern said: "This is the most evil deed in years.
"From our point of view, we will continue to work in dealing with this particular group, with the RUC and the Gardai.
SDLP leader John Hume said: "It is clear that the people who carried out this terrible deed today are not only appalling murderers, they are undiluted fascists. "
Ulster Unionist-security spokesman Ken Maginnis, who blamed dissident republicans, described the bomb as a "dreadful crime against humanity."
Cardinal Basil Hume, the Archbishop of Westminster, said in a statement: "To bring such sadness and suffering to the people of Omagh at this stage is a crime against humanity.
"I am calling on all Catholics to remember in their prayers at Mass tomorrow all those who have been so cruelly killed, those who were injured
and those who are grieving. "
The DUP's Peter Robinson said the bombing was a result of the government "surrendering to terrorists".
"It is the NIO who spawned the process of buying off the terrorists and encouraging the gun
Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams condemned the attack, saying: "I am totally horrified by this action. I condemn it without any equivocation whatsoever." His Sinn Fein colleague MP Martin McGuinness said he was "appalled and disgusted".
"It was an indefensible action. Those responsible are aligning themselves with the forces opposed to a democratic settlement of the conflict here."
Presbyterian Moderator Dr John Dixon called for "decisive action" by the governments on both sides of the border to stop the "terrorists who are committed to bringing death and destruction."
Ulster Unionist leader David Trimble cut short his holiday to return to Northern Ireland.
He claimed the attack would not have happened if the IRA had handed over its weapons and explosives.
"Sinn Fein cannot escape its responsibility in this bloody atrocity," said Mr Trimble.
In the wake of the bomb, UKU MP Robert McCartney attacked what he described as the "charade of the so-called peace process".
And he said the party will be asking for an urgent meeting with the Prime Minister to "demand an immediate security response and the end of the release of terrorist prisoners."
West Tyrone MP William Thompson, whose constituency includes Omagh, said: "This was a terrible act. It's very hard to understand what the reasoning of these people is. "We have had bombs going off in several towns in Northern Ireland recently, and obviously the inevitable has happened and we see here in Omagh terrible injuries and fatalities."
THE QUEEN last night led the condemnation of the slaughter.
In a statement, she said: "I was shocked to hear of the appalling crime in Omagh, which resulted in so many deaths and injuries.
"Please pass my heartfelt sympathy to the bereaved, injured and those others who have suffered in their distress."
And Prime Minister Tony Blair branded the bombing "an act of savagery. " He vowed those responsible would be brought to justice.
"There is total determination to bring the perpetrators to justice but an equal determination that they will not be allowed to destroy the process," he said. President Clinton tonight condemned the "butchery" in Omagh.
He said: "I renew my pledge to stand with the people of Northern Ireland against the perpetrators of violence; they will find no friends here."
He called the terrorist blast "a barbaric act intended to wreck Northern Ireland's aspirations for peace and reconciliation.
"On behalf of the American people, I condemn this butchery," he added.
Former Irish premier John Bruton called for an all-Ireland security strategy and said the "people who had perpetrated the Omagh bombing were addicted to violence and have no place in a civilised society."
Irish President Mary McAleese said she was deeply shocked.
Taoiseach Bertie Ahern said: "This is the most evil deed in years.
"From our point of view, we will continue to work in dealing with this particular group, with the RUC and the Gardai.
SDLP leader John Hume said: "It is clear that the people who carried out this terrible deed today are not only appalling murderers, they are undiluted fascists. "
Ulster Unionist-security spokesman Ken Maginnis, who blamed dissident republicans, described the bomb as a "dreadful crime against humanity."
Cardinal Basil Hume, the Archbishop of Westminster, said in a statement: "To bring such sadness and suffering to the people of Omagh at this stage is a crime against humanity.
"I am calling on all Catholics to remember in their prayers at Mass tomorrow all those who have been so cruelly killed, those who were injured
and those who are grieving. "
The DUP's Peter Robinson said the bombing was a result of the government "surrendering to terrorists".
"It is the NIO who spawned the process of buying off the terrorists and encouraging the gun
Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams condemned the attack, saying: "I am totally horrified by this action. I condemn it without any equivocation whatsoever." His Sinn Fein colleague MP Martin McGuinness said he was "appalled and disgusted".
"It was an indefensible action. Those responsible are aligning themselves with the forces opposed to a democratic settlement of the conflict here."
Presbyterian Moderator Dr John Dixon called for "decisive action" by the governments on both sides of the border to stop the "terrorists who are committed to bringing death and destruction."
Ulster Unionist leader David Trimble cut short his holiday to return to Northern Ireland.
He claimed the attack would not have happened if the IRA had handed over its weapons and explosives.
"Sinn Fein cannot escape its responsibility in this bloody atrocity," said Mr Trimble.
In the wake of the bomb, UKU MP Robert McCartney attacked what he described as the "charade of the so-called peace process".
And he said the party will be asking for an urgent meeting with the Prime Minister to "demand an immediate security response and the end of the release of terrorist prisoners."
West Tyrone MP William Thompson, whose constituency includes Omagh, said: "This was a terrible act. It's very hard to understand what the reasoning of these people is. "We have had bombs going off in several towns in Northern Ireland recently, and obviously the inevitable has happened and we see here in Omagh terrible injuries and fatalities."
Further Information
Publisher: SUNDAY LIFE
Ref: SL/014
Published Date: 16-Aug-98
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