OMAGH MAN ADDRESSES MADRID TRAIN BOMB COMMEMORATIONS
Omagh man addresses Madrid train bomb commemorations
by Emma Stewart
Omagh Support and Self Help Group chairman, Mr Michael Gallagher, travelled to Madrid at the weekend to speak at events commemorating victims of the Madrid train bombings of three years ago when 198 people were killed and hundreds were injured.
With March 11 designated by the European Parliament as a day of remembrance for all victims of terrorism, Mr Gallagher, who lost a son in the Omagh bombing of August 15, 1998, said: "It was a privilege to stand with the Spanish victims this week in Madrid, and I am looking forward to a time when we can acknowledge this day in our own country."
Having spoken at the main event on Sunday, the third anniversary of the Madrid attacks, Mr Gallagher revealed this event as an "opportunity to come together and put into place a wider forum, in an effort to draw down funding from the EU to subsidise support, in all its forms, for victims of terrorism."
Mr Gallagher said he was encouraged by the "strength and weight that victims carry in Spain", illustrated by the 1.2 million people on the streets on Saturday, demonstrating against the Spanish government's handling of negotiations with the Basque Separatist group, ETA.
Mr Gallagher is concerned to point out that "around 900 people died as a result of the conflict with ETA over a period of four decades, while over the same timespan in the region of 4,000 people died as a result of the conflict in Northern Ireland yet, to the best of my knowledge, the British and Irish governments have never honoured this day."
Nor, he added, did they send representatives from either Embassy in Spain in this year's event.
The Omagh Support and Self Help Group is committed to 'addressing the real and practical needs of those bereaved and injured as a result of terrorist activity, and ensuring that victims are afforded the respect and consideration they deserve.'
by Emma Stewart
Omagh Support and Self Help Group chairman, Mr Michael Gallagher, travelled to Madrid at the weekend to speak at events commemorating victims of the Madrid train bombings of three years ago when 198 people were killed and hundreds were injured.
With March 11 designated by the European Parliament as a day of remembrance for all victims of terrorism, Mr Gallagher, who lost a son in the Omagh bombing of August 15, 1998, said: "It was a privilege to stand with the Spanish victims this week in Madrid, and I am looking forward to a time when we can acknowledge this day in our own country."
Having spoken at the main event on Sunday, the third anniversary of the Madrid attacks, Mr Gallagher revealed this event as an "opportunity to come together and put into place a wider forum, in an effort to draw down funding from the EU to subsidise support, in all its forms, for victims of terrorism."
Mr Gallagher said he was encouraged by the "strength and weight that victims carry in Spain", illustrated by the 1.2 million people on the streets on Saturday, demonstrating against the Spanish government's handling of negotiations with the Basque Separatist group, ETA.
Mr Gallagher is concerned to point out that "around 900 people died as a result of the conflict with ETA over a period of four decades, while over the same timespan in the region of 4,000 people died as a result of the conflict in Northern Ireland yet, to the best of my knowledge, the British and Irish governments have never honoured this day."
Nor, he added, did they send representatives from either Embassy in Spain in this year's event.
The Omagh Support and Self Help Group is committed to 'addressing the real and practical needs of those bereaved and injured as a result of terrorist activity, and ensuring that victims are afforded the respect and consideration they deserve.'
Further Information
Publisher: TYRONE CONSTITUTION
Ref: TC/1875
Published Date: 15-Mar-07
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