BLAIR ANNOUNCES GET TOUGH POLICY ON TERROR DURING OMAGH VISIT
Blair announces 'get tough' policy on terror during Omagh visit
TOUGH new anti-terror laws were unveiled by the Prime Minister, Mr. Tony Blair, when he visited Omagh on Tuesday.
Declaring that the world wanted "no more Omaghs", Mr. Blair admitted the proposed measures were "fundamental and draconian".
Mr. Blair had a chance to see the scene of the explosion, and also took time to speak to those who had been involved in the emergency operations. He also visited two of the shops which had staff members killed in the blast.
The Prime Minister announced measures which will mirror those in the Republic, and which have been described as "draconian", but some critics say they do not go far enough.
In particular, West Tyrone MP, Mr. William Thompson, who was among those to meet Mr. Blair, called for a return of internment. He said the measures did not go far enough.
Mr. Blair spent more than an hour in Omagh. Hundreds of people gathered at High Street to see him arrive.
He was welcomed by representatives of the district council, traders' organisations and some of the doctors and nurses who tended the injured and dying on the day of the explosion.
After meeting staff at Watterson's shop and at Oxfam, Mr. Blair went to the scene of the explosion to announce that Parliament was being recalled next week to debate proposed new legislation.
Mr. Blair expressed his horror, outrage, and sense of grief at what he called a "terrible tragedy".
Trauma
With the Secretary of State, Dr. Mo Mowlam, beside him, the Prime Minister went on: "We can only guess at the extraordinary trauma that people in this town and in the towns and lands outlying it have being going through over these last few days, and will go through in the future.
"As I have said to some of the people I've talked to just now, the condolences and sympathy and sense of solidarity is shared not just throughout the United Kingdom and, through Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic, but is actually shared throughout the world.
"I also would like here to specifically and particularly pay tribute to the work and the dedication and the commitment of the police, the emergency services, the hospitals, doctors, medical staff and everybody who was involved in coping with the aftermath of that tragic and evil act."
Mr. Blair said he understood what little consolation new security measures, even political progress, could be for the victims of the Omagh bomb, but they could make a difference and he felt it was right to address these issues. Additionally, there was a different situation of co-operation and security now.
"First of all, ourselves and the Irish Government are working more closely that ever before. We work one with the other, and that is a big and welcome change from the past.
"Secondly, we know that we are dealing with groups prepared to carry out outrages such as this, who have no political support, no base, no votes, [and] no representation in any part of the community-
"They are, in a real sense, in the whole of the island of Ireland, outcasts from the community, and people rightly expect that we will take whatever measures we can, properly and legitimately, to bring those responsible to justice".
He said the new circumstances offered the opportunity to take action which was clearly defined, and properly thought out, and would actually improve the efficiency of the measures against terrorism.
To bring them in, the House of Commons would be recalled from its summer recess on Wednesday, with the House of Lords recalled on Thursday, he said.
Watertight
This, he said, was necessary because the proposed changes were of a serious nature, and needed to be legally watertight.
Among the proposals announced by the Prime Minister are:
~New legislation on those planning to carry out terrorist attacks outside the UK. This will become an offence
~The detention of suspects for longer than the normal period
~The evidence of a senior police officer to be admissible in court to convict someone of belonging to a banned organisation
~Corroboration of that evidence to be drawn from any refusal by a suspect to refuse to answer questions or to co-operate.
Said the Prime Minister: "Of course, measures- in respect of security can be a scant consolation to those who have been the victims of this appalling terrorist outrage, but we have the determination, not just here, but in the Republic too, to take whatever measures we can to bring those responsible to justice, and, more than that, we have a political process that has the overwhelming support of the majority of people everywhere.
"There is no doubt at all about the desire of people here for peaceful co-existence in Northern Ireland. There is no doubt at all of their clearly expressed will that the debates and discussions [which] should, and will, form part of the political debate should be conducted by peaceful means, and that the days of the men of violence must be consigned to the past - where they belong.
"I have seen for myself today not merely the terrible damage that this outrage resulted in. I have seen, and I have felt, too, the spirit that there is here, not just in Omagh, but in the whole of Northern Ireland, to make sure the future contains no more Omaghs, no more terrorist outrages, no more killings and maimings of innocent people, but that we build the future for peace and hope and prosperity that people here in Northern Ireland deserve, and the whole of the world wants to see for their future."
TOUGH new anti-terror laws were unveiled by the Prime Minister, Mr. Tony Blair, when he visited Omagh on Tuesday.
Declaring that the world wanted "no more Omaghs", Mr. Blair admitted the proposed measures were "fundamental and draconian".
Mr. Blair had a chance to see the scene of the explosion, and also took time to speak to those who had been involved in the emergency operations. He also visited two of the shops which had staff members killed in the blast.
The Prime Minister announced measures which will mirror those in the Republic, and which have been described as "draconian", but some critics say they do not go far enough.
In particular, West Tyrone MP, Mr. William Thompson, who was among those to meet Mr. Blair, called for a return of internment. He said the measures did not go far enough.
Mr. Blair spent more than an hour in Omagh. Hundreds of people gathered at High Street to see him arrive.
He was welcomed by representatives of the district council, traders' organisations and some of the doctors and nurses who tended the injured and dying on the day of the explosion.
After meeting staff at Watterson's shop and at Oxfam, Mr. Blair went to the scene of the explosion to announce that Parliament was being recalled next week to debate proposed new legislation.
Mr. Blair expressed his horror, outrage, and sense of grief at what he called a "terrible tragedy".
Trauma
With the Secretary of State, Dr. Mo Mowlam, beside him, the Prime Minister went on: "We can only guess at the extraordinary trauma that people in this town and in the towns and lands outlying it have being going through over these last few days, and will go through in the future.
"As I have said to some of the people I've talked to just now, the condolences and sympathy and sense of solidarity is shared not just throughout the United Kingdom and, through Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic, but is actually shared throughout the world.
"I also would like here to specifically and particularly pay tribute to the work and the dedication and the commitment of the police, the emergency services, the hospitals, doctors, medical staff and everybody who was involved in coping with the aftermath of that tragic and evil act."
Mr. Blair said he understood what little consolation new security measures, even political progress, could be for the victims of the Omagh bomb, but they could make a difference and he felt it was right to address these issues. Additionally, there was a different situation of co-operation and security now.
"First of all, ourselves and the Irish Government are working more closely that ever before. We work one with the other, and that is a big and welcome change from the past.
"Secondly, we know that we are dealing with groups prepared to carry out outrages such as this, who have no political support, no base, no votes, [and] no representation in any part of the community-
"They are, in a real sense, in the whole of the island of Ireland, outcasts from the community, and people rightly expect that we will take whatever measures we can, properly and legitimately, to bring those responsible to justice".
He said the new circumstances offered the opportunity to take action which was clearly defined, and properly thought out, and would actually improve the efficiency of the measures against terrorism.
To bring them in, the House of Commons would be recalled from its summer recess on Wednesday, with the House of Lords recalled on Thursday, he said.
Watertight
This, he said, was necessary because the proposed changes were of a serious nature, and needed to be legally watertight.
Among the proposals announced by the Prime Minister are:
~New legislation on those planning to carry out terrorist attacks outside the UK. This will become an offence
~The detention of suspects for longer than the normal period
~The evidence of a senior police officer to be admissible in court to convict someone of belonging to a banned organisation
~Corroboration of that evidence to be drawn from any refusal by a suspect to refuse to answer questions or to co-operate.
Said the Prime Minister: "Of course, measures- in respect of security can be a scant consolation to those who have been the victims of this appalling terrorist outrage, but we have the determination, not just here, but in the Republic too, to take whatever measures we can to bring those responsible to justice, and, more than that, we have a political process that has the overwhelming support of the majority of people everywhere.
"There is no doubt at all about the desire of people here for peaceful co-existence in Northern Ireland. There is no doubt at all of their clearly expressed will that the debates and discussions [which] should, and will, form part of the political debate should be conducted by peaceful means, and that the days of the men of violence must be consigned to the past - where they belong.
"I have seen for myself today not merely the terrible damage that this outrage resulted in. I have seen, and I have felt, too, the spirit that there is here, not just in Omagh, but in the whole of Northern Ireland, to make sure the future contains no more Omaghs, no more terrorist outrages, no more killings and maimings of innocent people, but that we build the future for peace and hope and prosperity that people here in Northern Ireland deserve, and the whole of the world wants to see for their future."
Further Information
Publisher: TYRONE CONSTITUTION
Ref: TC/0296
Published Date: 27-Aug-98
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