COMMISSION CHIEFS CALL FOR REVIEW OF OMAGH BOMB EVIDENCE
Commission chiefs call for review of Omagh bomb evidence
by Jonathan Rainey
THE head of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission, Professor Monica McWilliams, and her Irish counterpart, Dr Maurice Manning, have urged the British and Irish governments to appoint a serving or retired judge of international standing to examine all the available evidence relating to the Omagh bomb to determine whether there is a need for an independent cross-border public inquiry into the 1998 atrocity.
The two Human Rights commissioners made their call after a meeting with several relatives of victims of the Omagh massacre, which killed 29 people including a woman pregnant with twins, in the offices of the Omagh Support and Self-Help Group in Holmview Terrace on Thursday morning last.
The members of the support group, which was formed by the families of the victims in the aftermath of the tragedy, have been campaigning for a full independent cross-border public inquiry for a number of years, but up until last week's announcement there had been little progress.
At the meeting, Prof McWilliams and Dr Manning explained to the families that following detailed consideration, the two Commissions had decided to call jointly on the British and Irish governments to establish a Cory-style review into the Omagh bombing and the surrounding events.
Justice Peter Cory was a retired Canadian judge who was appointed by the British and Irish governments in 2001 to examine allegations of security force collusion in murders on both sides of the Northern Ireland border during the years of the Troubles in Northern Ireland.
Speaking after meeting with the Omagh families, Prof McWilliams, who is chief commissioner of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission, said: "We now know that Omagh crossed both jurisdictions, and that people were affected in both jurisdictions. We know that the Gardai and PSNI, formerly the RUC, have been involved in investigating the bomb, and that there's enough information in terms of police evidence and intelligence, witnesses and victims for this investigation to take place.
"Let me say from a human rights perspective, it's necessary that we do get to the truth and we're calling for a judge to now be appointed independently and of international standing to examine the material and then see if we should establish a cross-border inquiry."
Although this is the first time the two commissions have made such a strong joint stance on an issue, Prof McWilliams admitted that it was by no means certain whether the two governments would agree to their request.
She said: "We don't have a timeframe, because we will now make this call to the two governments through the Human Rights Commissions. They will then have to make that judgement on the back of our call. If the will is there, it can happen."
On a more positive note, Dr Manning, who is president of the Irish Human Rights Commission, added: "A great deal of material has been gathered already and more is coming out in different ways as well. There are other inquiries that have given guidelines about how to go about doing this, so it shouldn't take that long."
While welcoming the announcement by the two commissioners as a 'significant step', the chairman of the Omagh Support and Self-Help Group, Michael Gallagher, raised his doubts over whether the call would be met with much enthusiasm by the British and Irish governments.
Mr Gallagher said: "I know from having spoken to senior people in both governments that they will not welcome this announcement. Of course they won't. They've resisted thus far the call for a full cross-border public inquiry, so I don't think they've changed their minds on that.
"I'm under no illusion that they're not going to buckle under the statement today, there is more work needed. But I think that this is a very powerful first step, so we will now go to the international human rights organisations, such as Human Rights Watch International, and ask them to support our call.
"We will also ask the opposition parties, both in London and Dublin, to support our call. We have a powerful ally in the two human right organisations, and that's where I see the significance of today's announcement."
by Jonathan Rainey
THE head of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission, Professor Monica McWilliams, and her Irish counterpart, Dr Maurice Manning, have urged the British and Irish governments to appoint a serving or retired judge of international standing to examine all the available evidence relating to the Omagh bomb to determine whether there is a need for an independent cross-border public inquiry into the 1998 atrocity.
The two Human Rights commissioners made their call after a meeting with several relatives of victims of the Omagh massacre, which killed 29 people including a woman pregnant with twins, in the offices of the Omagh Support and Self-Help Group in Holmview Terrace on Thursday morning last.
The members of the support group, which was formed by the families of the victims in the aftermath of the tragedy, have been campaigning for a full independent cross-border public inquiry for a number of years, but up until last week's announcement there had been little progress.
At the meeting, Prof McWilliams and Dr Manning explained to the families that following detailed consideration, the two Commissions had decided to call jointly on the British and Irish governments to establish a Cory-style review into the Omagh bombing and the surrounding events.
Justice Peter Cory was a retired Canadian judge who was appointed by the British and Irish governments in 2001 to examine allegations of security force collusion in murders on both sides of the Northern Ireland border during the years of the Troubles in Northern Ireland.
Speaking after meeting with the Omagh families, Prof McWilliams, who is chief commissioner of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission, said: "We now know that Omagh crossed both jurisdictions, and that people were affected in both jurisdictions. We know that the Gardai and PSNI, formerly the RUC, have been involved in investigating the bomb, and that there's enough information in terms of police evidence and intelligence, witnesses and victims for this investigation to take place.
"Let me say from a human rights perspective, it's necessary that we do get to the truth and we're calling for a judge to now be appointed independently and of international standing to examine the material and then see if we should establish a cross-border inquiry."
Although this is the first time the two commissions have made such a strong joint stance on an issue, Prof McWilliams admitted that it was by no means certain whether the two governments would agree to their request.
She said: "We don't have a timeframe, because we will now make this call to the two governments through the Human Rights Commissions. They will then have to make that judgement on the back of our call. If the will is there, it can happen."
On a more positive note, Dr Manning, who is president of the Irish Human Rights Commission, added: "A great deal of material has been gathered already and more is coming out in different ways as well. There are other inquiries that have given guidelines about how to go about doing this, so it shouldn't take that long."
While welcoming the announcement by the two commissioners as a 'significant step', the chairman of the Omagh Support and Self-Help Group, Michael Gallagher, raised his doubts over whether the call would be met with much enthusiasm by the British and Irish governments.
Mr Gallagher said: "I know from having spoken to senior people in both governments that they will not welcome this announcement. Of course they won't. They've resisted thus far the call for a full cross-border public inquiry, so I don't think they've changed their minds on that.
"I'm under no illusion that they're not going to buckle under the statement today, there is more work needed. But I think that this is a very powerful first step, so we will now go to the international human rights organisations, such as Human Rights Watch International, and ask them to support our call.
"We will also ask the opposition parties, both in London and Dublin, to support our call. We have a powerful ally in the two human right organisations, and that's where I see the significance of today's announcement."
Further Information
Publisher: TYRONE CONSTITUTION
Ref: TC/1872
Published Date: 25-Jan-07
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