CRUNCH MEETINGS AHEAD FOR BOMB BEREAVED
Crunch meetings ahead for bomb bereaved
RELATIVES of some of those who died in the August 1998 Omagh bombing are preparing for crunch meetings this month, as their campaign for justice continues.
The Chief Constable will meet relatives in Omagh on January 24 to discuss his response to the damning report by the Police Ombudsman into the way the bomb investigation was handled, and relatives are also expected to go to London to meet David Blunkett, the Home Secretary.
Meanwhile, the case against Colm Murphy, the only man so far charged in connection with the bombing, is expected to come to a conclusion over the next few days.
It is expected that final submissions by the defence will be made in the Central Criminal Court in Dublin tomorrow (Friday), and a verdict may be delivered next week.
This week, Mr. Michael Gallagher, chairman of the Omagh Self-Help Group, said preparations were being made for the various meetings.
He said he had received a letter from the Home Secretary in response to a letter sent to him in November.
The Omagh relatives had asked for a meeting to discuss what they feel is a selective approach by the Government towards terrorist organisations.
Mr. Gallagher said that in the aftermath of the September 11 atrocities in the USA, the British Government had banned a number of terrorist related organisations, but not the 32 County Sovereignty committee, which is said to be the political wing of the Real IRA, perpetrators of the Omagh bombing.
Mr. Gallagher said the Home Secretary had promised to meet the group "early in the New Year".
Pressure
Said Mr. Gallagher: "This is a big meeting for us. It will be the first chance we will have had to go to London and put our points to the government on this issue. We will be asking the Government to put pressure on those organisations that further the aims of terrorists."
And he said the meeting with Sir Ronnie Flanagan would be a chance for the relatives to hear his response to the report by Nuala O'Loan.
"I have gone through Mrs. O'Loan's report and there are a lot of things in it that we would like answers to. There is no doubt this will be a difficult meeting for the Chief Constable.
"Mrs. O'Loan says she is right, and this will be a chance for the Chief Constable to tell us where he thinks she is wrong."
Mr. Gallagher added that relatives would also be meeting the Policing Board soon.
He said it was a difficult time for the Omagh relatives, and he conceded that some had different views from others.
"There are people who would like to leave the past behind them, and that is understandable. There are other people who are still daily living with what happened," he said.
The civil legal proceedings are also progressing, Mr. Gallagher said.
He added: "This is about justice. There is no way that we will let those behind this attack live down what they did," he said.
RELATIVES of some of those who died in the August 1998 Omagh bombing are preparing for crunch meetings this month, as their campaign for justice continues.
The Chief Constable will meet relatives in Omagh on January 24 to discuss his response to the damning report by the Police Ombudsman into the way the bomb investigation was handled, and relatives are also expected to go to London to meet David Blunkett, the Home Secretary.
Meanwhile, the case against Colm Murphy, the only man so far charged in connection with the bombing, is expected to come to a conclusion over the next few days.
It is expected that final submissions by the defence will be made in the Central Criminal Court in Dublin tomorrow (Friday), and a verdict may be delivered next week.
This week, Mr. Michael Gallagher, chairman of the Omagh Self-Help Group, said preparations were being made for the various meetings.
He said he had received a letter from the Home Secretary in response to a letter sent to him in November.
The Omagh relatives had asked for a meeting to discuss what they feel is a selective approach by the Government towards terrorist organisations.
Mr. Gallagher said that in the aftermath of the September 11 atrocities in the USA, the British Government had banned a number of terrorist related organisations, but not the 32 County Sovereignty committee, which is said to be the political wing of the Real IRA, perpetrators of the Omagh bombing.
Mr. Gallagher said the Home Secretary had promised to meet the group "early in the New Year".
Pressure
Said Mr. Gallagher: "This is a big meeting for us. It will be the first chance we will have had to go to London and put our points to the government on this issue. We will be asking the Government to put pressure on those organisations that further the aims of terrorists."
And he said the meeting with Sir Ronnie Flanagan would be a chance for the relatives to hear his response to the report by Nuala O'Loan.
"I have gone through Mrs. O'Loan's report and there are a lot of things in it that we would like answers to. There is no doubt this will be a difficult meeting for the Chief Constable.
"Mrs. O'Loan says she is right, and this will be a chance for the Chief Constable to tell us where he thinks she is wrong."
Mr. Gallagher added that relatives would also be meeting the Policing Board soon.
He said it was a difficult time for the Omagh relatives, and he conceded that some had different views from others.
"There are people who would like to leave the past behind them, and that is understandable. There are other people who are still daily living with what happened," he said.
The civil legal proceedings are also progressing, Mr. Gallagher said.
He added: "This is about justice. There is no way that we will let those behind this attack live down what they did," he said.
Further Information
Publisher: TYRONE CONSTITUTION
Ref: TC/0989
Published Date: 10-Jan-02
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