TRAUMA TEAM LEADER RESIGNS FROM SENTENCE REVIEW COMMISSION
Trauma team leader resigns from sentence review commission
MR DAVID BOLTON, who coordinated the counselling services in the immediate aftermath of the Omagh bombing, has resigned from his position on the Sentence Review Commission, the body which will preside over the release of terrorist prisoners.
Mr Bolton, director of community care with the Sperrin Lakeland Health and Social Care Trust, was present at the town's Leisure Centre on the Saturday evening and Sunday following the bombing.
He organized a community trauma team, in association with other voluntary agencies, which offered invaluable counselling and support to the bereaved and injured.
Citing "humanitarian reasons" for his departure from the Commission. Mr Bolton has pledged himself to continue to lead the Trust's response to the tragedy.
"In considering the human consequences of the Omagh bombing for local people, and others further afield, I have concluded that my place is with the people of the Sperrin Lakeland Trust, and specifically the Omagh District, at this time," he said.
Mr Bolton said the Trust's role of supporting people who have been bereaved, injured and distressed by the bombing has only just begun.
"Given the scale of the impact of the bombing on local people and the local community the needs in the community will require our attention for the foreseeable future," he said.
Colleagues welcomed Mr Bolton's appointment to the Commission by Secretary of State, Dr Mo Mowlan, at the end of July.
He was deemed a suitable candidate because of his extensive experience with the victims of violence, including those affected by the Enniskillen Poppy Day bombing in 1997.
A qualified social worker, and executive director of social work with the Trust, Mr Bolton was until recently chairman of the Fermanagh District Partnership for Peace and Reconciliation.
He has now urged that his decision to stand down should not be misinterpreted, and stated that he still supports the Sentence Review Commission.
"I fully respect the decision of the electorate who voted in favour of the Good Friday Agreement, and recognize that the release of prisoners is, along with other elements, a key part of that Agreement," he said.
"I therefore recognize, and continue to support, the role of the Sentence Review Commission in implementing the requirements of the Northern Ireland Sentences Act".
The remaining members of the Commission are Sir John Belloch and Brian Currin, joint chairmen, Silvia Casale, Peter Curran, Ian Dunbar, Mary Gilpin, Adrian Grounds, Clodagh McGrory and Dave Wall.
The appointments were made as part of the Northern Ireland Sentences Act, which attempts to provide a number of important safeguards for the protection of the public, and to ensure that prisoners who support organizations that have not established, or are not maintaining, complete and unequivocal ceasefires, will not be released early.
Speaking at the time of the appointments, Dr Mowlan admitted that the early release of prisoners would be one of the most difficult aspects of the Good Friday Agreement.
However, she added: "The commissioners I have appointed bring a range of relevant skills and experience to the work, and I believe the people of Northern Ireland can have confidence that they will apply the tests in the legislation diligently and with due regard for the need to maintain public confidence in the arrangements."
Mr Bolton has since advised Dr Mowlan of his intention to stand down from the Commission.
MR DAVID BOLTON, who coordinated the counselling services in the immediate aftermath of the Omagh bombing, has resigned from his position on the Sentence Review Commission, the body which will preside over the release of terrorist prisoners.
Mr Bolton, director of community care with the Sperrin Lakeland Health and Social Care Trust, was present at the town's Leisure Centre on the Saturday evening and Sunday following the bombing.
He organized a community trauma team, in association with other voluntary agencies, which offered invaluable counselling and support to the bereaved and injured.
Citing "humanitarian reasons" for his departure from the Commission. Mr Bolton has pledged himself to continue to lead the Trust's response to the tragedy.
"In considering the human consequences of the Omagh bombing for local people, and others further afield, I have concluded that my place is with the people of the Sperrin Lakeland Trust, and specifically the Omagh District, at this time," he said.
Mr Bolton said the Trust's role of supporting people who have been bereaved, injured and distressed by the bombing has only just begun.
"Given the scale of the impact of the bombing on local people and the local community the needs in the community will require our attention for the foreseeable future," he said.
Colleagues welcomed Mr Bolton's appointment to the Commission by Secretary of State, Dr Mo Mowlan, at the end of July.
He was deemed a suitable candidate because of his extensive experience with the victims of violence, including those affected by the Enniskillen Poppy Day bombing in 1997.
A qualified social worker, and executive director of social work with the Trust, Mr Bolton was until recently chairman of the Fermanagh District Partnership for Peace and Reconciliation.
He has now urged that his decision to stand down should not be misinterpreted, and stated that he still supports the Sentence Review Commission.
"I fully respect the decision of the electorate who voted in favour of the Good Friday Agreement, and recognize that the release of prisoners is, along with other elements, a key part of that Agreement," he said.
"I therefore recognize, and continue to support, the role of the Sentence Review Commission in implementing the requirements of the Northern Ireland Sentences Act".
The remaining members of the Commission are Sir John Belloch and Brian Currin, joint chairmen, Silvia Casale, Peter Curran, Ian Dunbar, Mary Gilpin, Adrian Grounds, Clodagh McGrory and Dave Wall.
The appointments were made as part of the Northern Ireland Sentences Act, which attempts to provide a number of important safeguards for the protection of the public, and to ensure that prisoners who support organizations that have not established, or are not maintaining, complete and unequivocal ceasefires, will not be released early.
Speaking at the time of the appointments, Dr Mowlan admitted that the early release of prisoners would be one of the most difficult aspects of the Good Friday Agreement.
However, she added: "The commissioners I have appointed bring a range of relevant skills and experience to the work, and I believe the people of Northern Ireland can have confidence that they will apply the tests in the legislation diligently and with due regard for the need to maintain public confidence in the arrangements."
Mr Bolton has since advised Dr Mowlan of his intention to stand down from the Commission.
Further Information
Publisher: TYRONE CONSTITUTION
Ref: TC/1174
Published Date: 10-Sep-98
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