VOICE OF THE MIRROR
Voice of the Mirror
THE Omagh atrocity has a special place in the history of Northern Ireland.
Not just because it was the most awful horror of 30 years of horrors but because it marked a fundamental turning point on the road to peace.
What happened there - not just the bombing, but what followed it - shows that nothing has changed in Northern Ireland - and that everything has changed.
What has not changed is the traditional life of the ordinary people, especially the Saturday afternoon trip to the shops or pub or simply to take out the children.
What has changed is the reaction to violence and bloodshed.
For 30 years we have witnessed bombings and shootings followed by a mixture of studied indifference and crocodile tears.
Omagh was different.
Sinn Fein's leaders were among the first to condemn the killers without reservation.
They are reflecting the new attitude among the vast majority of Northern Ireland's people who want to build a peaceful new Ulster on the back of the economic and social changes north and south of the border.
Nationalists and Unionists have been growing closer over the months of the peace process and Saturday's atrocity will bring them closer still.
The politicians must take advantage of the spirit of horror and unity created by this abominable act.
For the victims' sacrifice will have been pointless if the peace process now breaks down.
The psychotic killers will have got exactly what they wanted - an endless future of blood and terror.
The political leaders must now not just sit down together but must work together. For all the people of Northern Ireland. Both communities have already given a lot. They have had to accept some things, particularly the release of prisoners, which are repugnant.
But it is better to suffer that pain than the real pain of losing ordinary, decent people.
The immediate task is for the security forces on both sides of the border to take out the terrorists.
And not only those responsible for the massacre in Omagh. ALL the terrorists. On both sides.
They can only do that if the Good Friday agreement holds and all parties agree to stick by it.
Thirty years of violence inevitably created a bunch of mad gangsters who were never going to be anything other than criminals.
All they know is how to kill and maim, which is why they are excluded from the peace process.
The security forces must be used against them with the same ruthlessness that they use against innocent people.
But there must be no violent over-reaction by the Unionists.
That would be playing into the hands of the killers.
The future does not lie with a small group of crazed murderers.
It lies with the ordinary people of Northern Ireland and particularly their leaders.
All the hard work of the past months was aimed at preventing a horror like Omagh.
Tragically, it did not. But it may prevent another massacre.
That must be the hope and the goal towards which everyone struggles.
The alternative is to give up.
To run away. To give in to the killers. And hand Northern Ireland over to them.
That would be the ultimate betrayal of the people of Omagh.
THE Omagh atrocity has a special place in the history of Northern Ireland.
Not just because it was the most awful horror of 30 years of horrors but because it marked a fundamental turning point on the road to peace.
What happened there - not just the bombing, but what followed it - shows that nothing has changed in Northern Ireland - and that everything has changed.
What has not changed is the traditional life of the ordinary people, especially the Saturday afternoon trip to the shops or pub or simply to take out the children.
What has changed is the reaction to violence and bloodshed.
For 30 years we have witnessed bombings and shootings followed by a mixture of studied indifference and crocodile tears.
Omagh was different.
Sinn Fein's leaders were among the first to condemn the killers without reservation.
They are reflecting the new attitude among the vast majority of Northern Ireland's people who want to build a peaceful new Ulster on the back of the economic and social changes north and south of the border.
Nationalists and Unionists have been growing closer over the months of the peace process and Saturday's atrocity will bring them closer still.
The politicians must take advantage of the spirit of horror and unity created by this abominable act.
For the victims' sacrifice will have been pointless if the peace process now breaks down.
The psychotic killers will have got exactly what they wanted - an endless future of blood and terror.
The political leaders must now not just sit down together but must work together. For all the people of Northern Ireland. Both communities have already given a lot. They have had to accept some things, particularly the release of prisoners, which are repugnant.
But it is better to suffer that pain than the real pain of losing ordinary, decent people.
The immediate task is for the security forces on both sides of the border to take out the terrorists.
And not only those responsible for the massacre in Omagh. ALL the terrorists. On both sides.
They can only do that if the Good Friday agreement holds and all parties agree to stick by it.
Thirty years of violence inevitably created a bunch of mad gangsters who were never going to be anything other than criminals.
All they know is how to kill and maim, which is why they are excluded from the peace process.
The security forces must be used against them with the same ruthlessness that they use against innocent people.
But there must be no violent over-reaction by the Unionists.
That would be playing into the hands of the killers.
The future does not lie with a small group of crazed murderers.
It lies with the ordinary people of Northern Ireland and particularly their leaders.
All the hard work of the past months was aimed at preventing a horror like Omagh.
Tragically, it did not. But it may prevent another massacre.
That must be the hope and the goal towards which everyone struggles.
The alternative is to give up.
To run away. To give in to the killers. And hand Northern Ireland over to them.
That would be the ultimate betrayal of the people of Omagh.
Further Information
Publisher: THE MIRROR
Ref: TM/011
Published Date: 17-Aug-98
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