UNIONISTS CRITICISE ABSENCE OF ROYALTY FROM SERVICE
Unionists criticise absence of Royalty from service
OMAGH Unionist Association has criticised the absence of a member of the Royal Family from Saturday's short act of remembrance in the town centre.
In a statement issued on Monday, the association said the omission was regrettable, when so many representatives of the Eire Government were present.
Coupled to the frequent visits of President Mary McAleese, the statement claimed, unionists were now asking 'in what country had this atrocity occurred?'.
It goes on: "Whilst welcoming the current concern and sympathy of the Eire Government, unionist people regret that, throughout the last 30 years of Irish Republican violence and terrorism, the Eire Government has harboured terrorists and provided a safe haven for them to launch attacks on towns like Omagh."
And the statement asserted that many relatives of the victims of the bombing, and the injured, had been sickened by the appearance of Gerry Adams, Martin McGuinness, and other Sinn Fein/IRA figures in Omagh on Saturday.
"When people consider the number of murders and bombings in the Omagh area committed by the IRA. it is particularly galling for decent, honourable people to see these persons given such a prominent position in the proceedings," the statement said.
Condemning the use of the Irish language in parts of the ceremony as offensive to many unionists, the statement said that, while recognising a number of victims were from Eire, the vast majority of people in that country spoke only English.
And the statement added: "The Irish language over the past century has been one of the major weapons in the arsenal of Irish republicanism, and has been used as a cultural weapon against the Ulster-British people. The use of this language at this service was, to say the least, insensitive in all the circumstances."
Concluding, the association said it hoped the Eire President and her Government entourage would not use the Omagh bomb and its aftermath as an excuse for continued presidential visits to "our country".
It ended: "The unionist people of Omagh would prefer that President McAleese and her Government reflect on the fact that for 30 years they did nothing for the long-suffering people of Ulster, and provided a safe haven for terrorists within their boundaries."
OMAGH Unionist Association has criticised the absence of a member of the Royal Family from Saturday's short act of remembrance in the town centre.
In a statement issued on Monday, the association said the omission was regrettable, when so many representatives of the Eire Government were present.
Coupled to the frequent visits of President Mary McAleese, the statement claimed, unionists were now asking 'in what country had this atrocity occurred?'.
It goes on: "Whilst welcoming the current concern and sympathy of the Eire Government, unionist people regret that, throughout the last 30 years of Irish Republican violence and terrorism, the Eire Government has harboured terrorists and provided a safe haven for them to launch attacks on towns like Omagh."
And the statement asserted that many relatives of the victims of the bombing, and the injured, had been sickened by the appearance of Gerry Adams, Martin McGuinness, and other Sinn Fein/IRA figures in Omagh on Saturday.
"When people consider the number of murders and bombings in the Omagh area committed by the IRA. it is particularly galling for decent, honourable people to see these persons given such a prominent position in the proceedings," the statement said.
Condemning the use of the Irish language in parts of the ceremony as offensive to many unionists, the statement said that, while recognising a number of victims were from Eire, the vast majority of people in that country spoke only English.
And the statement added: "The Irish language over the past century has been one of the major weapons in the arsenal of Irish republicanism, and has been used as a cultural weapon against the Ulster-British people. The use of this language at this service was, to say the least, insensitive in all the circumstances."
Concluding, the association said it hoped the Eire President and her Government entourage would not use the Omagh bomb and its aftermath as an excuse for continued presidential visits to "our country".
It ended: "The unionist people of Omagh would prefer that President McAleese and her Government reflect on the fact that for 30 years they did nothing for the long-suffering people of Ulster, and provided a safe haven for terrorists within their boundaries."
Further Information
Publisher: TYRONE CONSTITUTION
Ref: TC/0293
Published Date: 27-Aug-98
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