SECRETARY OF STATE TO MEET WITH OMAGH FAMILIES OVER CALLS FOR CROSS BORDER INQUIRY
Secretary of State to meet with Omagh families over calls for cross-border inquiry
by Jonathan Rainey
THE Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Owen Paterson, is to meet with several of the families of the Omagh bomb victims at the end of September to discuss their calls for an independent cross-border public inquiry into the 1998 atrocity, it has been revealed.
Speaking after the memorial service marking the 12th anniversary of the Omagh bomb, Minister of State for Northern Ireland, Hugo Swire MP, confirmed that both he and Mr Paterson would be meeting the families next month for the first time since the Conservative/Liberal Democrat coalition came to power in May.
Mr Swire, who was representing the Northern Ireland Office at the service on Sunday afternoon, also rejected claims made by Deputy First Minister, Martin McGuinness, last week that the British government was engaged in talks with representatives of dissident republicans.
The Minister of State said: "I think you heard in the service today, everyone has moved on from these days of violence. We want a peaceful solution, devolution is working, the institutions are working and we should have no truck with these criminals who seek to turn their face against democracy.
"The Secretary of State has made it very clear that we don't see any reason to talk to criminals and terrorists who won't engage in a peaceful and democratic way of doing business. I don't know anyone who thinks it's useful to have any kind of negotiations with people who turn their face against the proper democratic processes."
However, Mr Swire added: "I think we should be prepared to talk to anybody who renounces violence and the gun and is prepared to take part in the democratic process on a level playing field. That is how they should make their case, not by violence."
Michael Gallagher, spokesperson for the Omagh Support and Self Help Group, said the families would be urging the Secretary of State to help provide some "public closure" to the Omagh atrocity-Mr Gallagher, whose son Aiden was killed in the 1998 bomb, said: "We believe that the only way for that to happen is for both governments to come together in an open and transparent way, and really tell the families, and indeed the wider community, what actually happened in the lead-up to Omagh, on the day itself and afterwards."
by Jonathan Rainey
THE Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Owen Paterson, is to meet with several of the families of the Omagh bomb victims at the end of September to discuss their calls for an independent cross-border public inquiry into the 1998 atrocity, it has been revealed.
Speaking after the memorial service marking the 12th anniversary of the Omagh bomb, Minister of State for Northern Ireland, Hugo Swire MP, confirmed that both he and Mr Paterson would be meeting the families next month for the first time since the Conservative/Liberal Democrat coalition came to power in May.
Mr Swire, who was representing the Northern Ireland Office at the service on Sunday afternoon, also rejected claims made by Deputy First Minister, Martin McGuinness, last week that the British government was engaged in talks with representatives of dissident republicans.
The Minister of State said: "I think you heard in the service today, everyone has moved on from these days of violence. We want a peaceful solution, devolution is working, the institutions are working and we should have no truck with these criminals who seek to turn their face against democracy.
"The Secretary of State has made it very clear that we don't see any reason to talk to criminals and terrorists who won't engage in a peaceful and democratic way of doing business. I don't know anyone who thinks it's useful to have any kind of negotiations with people who turn their face against the proper democratic processes."
However, Mr Swire added: "I think we should be prepared to talk to anybody who renounces violence and the gun and is prepared to take part in the democratic process on a level playing field. That is how they should make their case, not by violence."
Michael Gallagher, spokesperson for the Omagh Support and Self Help Group, said the families would be urging the Secretary of State to help provide some "public closure" to the Omagh atrocity-Mr Gallagher, whose son Aiden was killed in the 1998 bomb, said: "We believe that the only way for that to happen is for both governments to come together in an open and transparent way, and really tell the families, and indeed the wider community, what actually happened in the lead-up to Omagh, on the day itself and afterwards."
Further Information
Publisher: TYRONE CONSTITUTION
Ref: TC/1999
Published Date: 19-Aug-10
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