CLINTON PLEDGES AMERICAN AID FOR OMAGH RECOVERY
Clinton pledges American aid for Omagh recovery
PRESIDENT VISIBLY MOVED BY VISIT TO SCENE OF ATROCITY
US President Bill Clinton, has pledged to do whatever he can to help 'rebuild' the town of Omagh and its community, following the bombing on August 15, which, on Saturday, claimed its 29th life.
The President was visibly moved when he visited the town with First Lady Hilary on Thursday last, along with Prime Minister Tony Blair, and his wife, Cherie.
And this week, Omagh District Council chief executive, Mr John McKinney revealed that he had already been in contact with Mr Clinton's personal adviser to discuss ways in which the US could provide some 'tangible assistance' to the town.
The local chamber of commerce and industry, in a letter handed over to the President has also called on him to encourage American businesses to invest in Omagh.
Despite the intense security clampdown several thousand people turned up to see the American leader and his entourage which included Senator George Mitchell, broker of the Good Friday Agreement and the American Ambassador in London Philip Lader.
Northern Ireland Secretary of State, Mo Mowlan was also there.
From midday people had started to gather in the town, while Secret Service agents manned security checkpoints and carried out stringent searches.
The President touched down at Lisanelly Army Camp in a United States Air Force helicopter shortly before 4pm. Around a dozen other helicopters also roared into the base, carrying the many cars which would make up the Presidential cavalcade, along with hundreds of his aides.
From there, the President made his way directly to the leisure centre, where around 600 of the bereaved, injured and their relatives waited to meet him, the First Lady and the Blairs.
It is understood that the families of most of the dead were present for the meeting which was held in private and which lasted for more than an hour - longer than scheduled.
Representatives from the various churches were also at the leisure centre, including Rev. Kevin Mullan, curate at Christ the King Church Catholic Church, Strathroy, Rev. Ian Mairs, minister of Mountjoy Presbyterian Church, Rev. Peter Good, minister of Omagh Methodist Church, Rev. Derek Quinn, rector of Lismnaghan and Rev. Albin Rankin, former minister of Seskinore Presbyterian Church along with three priests from the Buncrana parish.
Prior to the meeting, the President met the chairman and vice-chairman of Omagh District Council, Mr Sean Clarke and Mr Allan Rainey.
Shortly before 5.45pm, the large cavalcade of cars, preceded by 10 RUC outriders on motorcycles, arrived at the scene of the bombing in Market Street, to the cheers of several hundred spectators held back by a security cordon at Campsie.
The visitors were welcomed by Mr McKinney who led them to a memorial plaque placed on a temporary plinth outside S. D. Kells drapery store, where the car carrying the 500 bomb had been parked.
Amid an eerie silence, the President and Prime Minister solemnly unveiled the plaque in memory of the men, women and children who lost their lives in the atrocity.
Mr Clinton, deeply moved, lightly touched the plaque with his hand, while his wife laid a sprig of three white flowers at the base of the plinth.
Before moving up the town towards the assembled crowds, the President stood and surveyed the bomb-damaged scene in shocked disbelief, as he envisaged the carnage wreaked on the narrow street less than three weeks earlier.
In sombre mood, all the more intensified by the earlier meeting with the victims, Mr. Clinton and his wife asked questions about the bombing, while Mr. McKinney and Mr. Blair pointed out the premises where people had lost their lives.
As the visitors headed towards the 1,500 invited guests positioned in High Street, the President received a warm welcome, and the solemn tone began to lift.
He met members of the emergency services - nurses, doctors, firemen and ambulancemen - who had tended to the injured and dying. And he spoke with members of the RUC who had been on duty the day of the bombing including Sergeant Phil Marshall, who played an important role in co-ordinating events immediately after the explosion.
He also spoke to the detective in charge of the investigation into the bombing detective chief superintendent Eric Anderson.
Charity workers, members of the voluntary sector, councillors, traders and friends of some of the schoolchildren who died were among those who reached out to the President. Some lifted their children and babies up for him to shake their hands.
Such, it seemed, was the President's desire to speak to as many people as he could that it took him half-an-hour to reach Watterson's drapery shop, where a wreath-laying ceremony was to be carried out.
Sense of hope
As he walked further along High Street, the sense of hope and optimism was tangible.
Hilary Clinton was the first to reach the thousands who had gathered at the Courthouse hill, many of whom had been waiting patiently for six hours to meet the American visitors.
As people thronged forward, some children had to be lifted over the security barriers by police to prevent them from being crushed.
The President's wife was greeted with cheers, clapping and waving of flags. She told one woman, who thanked her for coming, that she was delighted to have been able to.
When Mr Clinton reached Watterson's he and the Prime Minister looked on as the First Lady and Cherie Blair solemnly laid two floral tributes at the door of the shop which had lost three of its employees in the bombing.
All four then read the murder poster displayed on the door, and bent down to read some of the tributes left by members of the public.
Moving towards the crowd at the Courthouse hill, the Blairs received a rousing welcome, but the warmest applause was reserved for the President, who arrived at the security barriers to chants of 'We want Bill'.
Again, Mr Clinton reached out to the people with his two hands, as he slowly moved along the heaving mass of men, women and children eager to touch him.
With a final shaking of hands with Mr McKinney, the President paused before getting into his limousine, and waved goodbye to the cheering crowds. He was still clearly moved by the reception he had been given.
Meanwhile speaking on Monday, Mr McKinney said the President had seemed very aware of the circumstances surrounding the bomb, adding that, since the visit, he had been in touch with Mr Clinton's personal adviser to discuss possible American intervention in rebuilding the town.
Shocked
"He was clearly very shocked by what he saw in Market Street. And he offered whatever support he could to help rebuild the community and the town, both in human and physical terms." he said.
"The visit most definitely moved him, and he told me to contact his personal adviser to discuss how some tangible assistance could be forthcoming, and what progress could be made."
"Both he and Hilary came across as very human and people orientated. They were very keen to meet and speak to local people."
Commenting on the disruption caused in the town by the massive security operation, Mr McKinney said if the bereaved and injured had gained some solace from the Presidential visit, and felt it would help them come to terms with the tragedy, then it was worth it.
He added that the town was in need of investment, and hopefully the President's visit would produce some tangible results in that respect.
"Some have been concerned about the disruption, but we have to look at things in the long term. The advantages should far outweigh the disadvantages," he said.
Mr McKinney explained that, prior to the trip, White House personnel had contacted him to ask if the people of Omagh would welcome the President.
"I said that yes, the people would like him to come, and that the council had already agreed to invite him," he said.
He said the visit had been important to the bereaved, the injured and their families, and, in his view, had been worthwhile.
But he added: "Despite the sense of euphoria surrounding the visit, we have to remember that 29 people died in the bombing, and hundreds more were injured."
Mr McKinney went on to say that the plaque unveiled by the President and the First Lady would be housed temporarily in the council offices, until such times as a fitting memorial was erected for the dead.
PRESIDENT VISIBLY MOVED BY VISIT TO SCENE OF ATROCITY
US President Bill Clinton, has pledged to do whatever he can to help 'rebuild' the town of Omagh and its community, following the bombing on August 15, which, on Saturday, claimed its 29th life.
The President was visibly moved when he visited the town with First Lady Hilary on Thursday last, along with Prime Minister Tony Blair, and his wife, Cherie.
And this week, Omagh District Council chief executive, Mr John McKinney revealed that he had already been in contact with Mr Clinton's personal adviser to discuss ways in which the US could provide some 'tangible assistance' to the town.
The local chamber of commerce and industry, in a letter handed over to the President has also called on him to encourage American businesses to invest in Omagh.
Despite the intense security clampdown several thousand people turned up to see the American leader and his entourage which included Senator George Mitchell, broker of the Good Friday Agreement and the American Ambassador in London Philip Lader.
Northern Ireland Secretary of State, Mo Mowlan was also there.
From midday people had started to gather in the town, while Secret Service agents manned security checkpoints and carried out stringent searches.
The President touched down at Lisanelly Army Camp in a United States Air Force helicopter shortly before 4pm. Around a dozen other helicopters also roared into the base, carrying the many cars which would make up the Presidential cavalcade, along with hundreds of his aides.
From there, the President made his way directly to the leisure centre, where around 600 of the bereaved, injured and their relatives waited to meet him, the First Lady and the Blairs.
It is understood that the families of most of the dead were present for the meeting which was held in private and which lasted for more than an hour - longer than scheduled.
Representatives from the various churches were also at the leisure centre, including Rev. Kevin Mullan, curate at Christ the King Church Catholic Church, Strathroy, Rev. Ian Mairs, minister of Mountjoy Presbyterian Church, Rev. Peter Good, minister of Omagh Methodist Church, Rev. Derek Quinn, rector of Lismnaghan and Rev. Albin Rankin, former minister of Seskinore Presbyterian Church along with three priests from the Buncrana parish.
Prior to the meeting, the President met the chairman and vice-chairman of Omagh District Council, Mr Sean Clarke and Mr Allan Rainey.
Shortly before 5.45pm, the large cavalcade of cars, preceded by 10 RUC outriders on motorcycles, arrived at the scene of the bombing in Market Street, to the cheers of several hundred spectators held back by a security cordon at Campsie.
The visitors were welcomed by Mr McKinney who led them to a memorial plaque placed on a temporary plinth outside S. D. Kells drapery store, where the car carrying the 500 bomb had been parked.
Amid an eerie silence, the President and Prime Minister solemnly unveiled the plaque in memory of the men, women and children who lost their lives in the atrocity.
Mr Clinton, deeply moved, lightly touched the plaque with his hand, while his wife laid a sprig of three white flowers at the base of the plinth.
Before moving up the town towards the assembled crowds, the President stood and surveyed the bomb-damaged scene in shocked disbelief, as he envisaged the carnage wreaked on the narrow street less than three weeks earlier.
In sombre mood, all the more intensified by the earlier meeting with the victims, Mr. Clinton and his wife asked questions about the bombing, while Mr. McKinney and Mr. Blair pointed out the premises where people had lost their lives.
As the visitors headed towards the 1,500 invited guests positioned in High Street, the President received a warm welcome, and the solemn tone began to lift.
He met members of the emergency services - nurses, doctors, firemen and ambulancemen - who had tended to the injured and dying. And he spoke with members of the RUC who had been on duty the day of the bombing including Sergeant Phil Marshall, who played an important role in co-ordinating events immediately after the explosion.
He also spoke to the detective in charge of the investigation into the bombing detective chief superintendent Eric Anderson.
Charity workers, members of the voluntary sector, councillors, traders and friends of some of the schoolchildren who died were among those who reached out to the President. Some lifted their children and babies up for him to shake their hands.
Such, it seemed, was the President's desire to speak to as many people as he could that it took him half-an-hour to reach Watterson's drapery shop, where a wreath-laying ceremony was to be carried out.
Sense of hope
As he walked further along High Street, the sense of hope and optimism was tangible.
Hilary Clinton was the first to reach the thousands who had gathered at the Courthouse hill, many of whom had been waiting patiently for six hours to meet the American visitors.
As people thronged forward, some children had to be lifted over the security barriers by police to prevent them from being crushed.
The President's wife was greeted with cheers, clapping and waving of flags. She told one woman, who thanked her for coming, that she was delighted to have been able to.
When Mr Clinton reached Watterson's he and the Prime Minister looked on as the First Lady and Cherie Blair solemnly laid two floral tributes at the door of the shop which had lost three of its employees in the bombing.
All four then read the murder poster displayed on the door, and bent down to read some of the tributes left by members of the public.
Moving towards the crowd at the Courthouse hill, the Blairs received a rousing welcome, but the warmest applause was reserved for the President, who arrived at the security barriers to chants of 'We want Bill'.
Again, Mr Clinton reached out to the people with his two hands, as he slowly moved along the heaving mass of men, women and children eager to touch him.
With a final shaking of hands with Mr McKinney, the President paused before getting into his limousine, and waved goodbye to the cheering crowds. He was still clearly moved by the reception he had been given.
Meanwhile speaking on Monday, Mr McKinney said the President had seemed very aware of the circumstances surrounding the bomb, adding that, since the visit, he had been in touch with Mr Clinton's personal adviser to discuss possible American intervention in rebuilding the town.
Shocked
"He was clearly very shocked by what he saw in Market Street. And he offered whatever support he could to help rebuild the community and the town, both in human and physical terms." he said.
"The visit most definitely moved him, and he told me to contact his personal adviser to discuss how some tangible assistance could be forthcoming, and what progress could be made."
"Both he and Hilary came across as very human and people orientated. They were very keen to meet and speak to local people."
Commenting on the disruption caused in the town by the massive security operation, Mr McKinney said if the bereaved and injured had gained some solace from the Presidential visit, and felt it would help them come to terms with the tragedy, then it was worth it.
He added that the town was in need of investment, and hopefully the President's visit would produce some tangible results in that respect.
"Some have been concerned about the disruption, but we have to look at things in the long term. The advantages should far outweigh the disadvantages," he said.
Mr McKinney explained that, prior to the trip, White House personnel had contacted him to ask if the people of Omagh would welcome the President.
"I said that yes, the people would like him to come, and that the council had already agreed to invite him," he said.
He said the visit had been important to the bereaved, the injured and their families, and, in his view, had been worthwhile.
But he added: "Despite the sense of euphoria surrounding the visit, we have to remember that 29 people died in the bombing, and hundreds more were injured."
Mr McKinney went on to say that the plaque unveiled by the President and the First Lady would be housed temporarily in the council offices, until such times as a fitting memorial was erected for the dead.
Further Information
Publisher: TYRONE CONSTITUTION
Ref: TC/1148
Published Date: 10-Sep-98
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