WE'LL GET THE 30 ANIMALS WHO DID THIS
WE'LL GET THE 30 ANIMALS WHO DID THIS
By JAMES HARDY Deputy Political Editor
Mo vows to put the bombers behind bars
THE 30 men who plotted the Omagh bombing could be behind bars within days.
Measures to detain terrorist suspects on the word of a senior police officer are set to be introduced in the Irish Republic. Ulster Secretary Mo Mowlam sickened by the deaths of 28 innocents - said: 'The people who did this are just not human, they are animals." She would not rule out internment in the north.
The Real IRA, opposed to the peace process, is blamed for the 500lb car bomb in the Co. Tyrone town.
Last night a hearse leaving an army base there, bearing two coffins, summed up the unspeakable horror.
The white casket of tiny Maura Monaghan, aged 18 months, lay next to the oak coffin of her 30-year-old mother Avril, who was pregnant with twins. Avril's mother was another victim.
Five arrests in connection with the bombing were made by the RUC yesterday. More are expected.
Most of the active members of the Real IRA live in the south and are known to the security forces. Altogether, they number about 100. The seizing of the ringleaders was discussed yesterday at a four-hour security summit in Belfast.
Ms Mowlam and Irish Republic Justice Minister John O'Donoghue hammered out tactics with RUC chief Ronnie Flanagan and his counterpart in the south, Garda commissioner Pat Byrne.
Vowing to nail those responsible, Ms Mowlam said later: "We are determined to do everything possible to make sure they are taken off the streets.
"We are talking about 30 people who are out to destroy the peace process that the rest of the people in Northern Ireland want to build." She said the re-introduction of internment - where suspects are detained without trial - was still on the agenda.
Ms Mowlam said it had "serious difficulties" and outlined a different approach: "We are looking at making it easier to provide evidence of membership of a proscribed organisation, so we can deal directly with the very small numbers we are dealing with, rather than take sledgehammer powers to tackle a nut."
Justice chief Mr O'Donoghue said the key proposal would involve changes to the Offences Against the State Act in Ireland.
This would allow courts to accept as evidence the word of a chief superintendent.
He added: "It is the firm resolve of the Irish Government to ensure the people who perpetrated this appalling crime will face justice."
Police on both sides of the border agreed to work in close cooperation and step up cross-border security to unprecedented levels.
Both British and Irish governments were trying to beat legal difficulties surrounding the plan.
By JAMES HARDY Deputy Political Editor
Mo vows to put the bombers behind bars
THE 30 men who plotted the Omagh bombing could be behind bars within days.
Measures to detain terrorist suspects on the word of a senior police officer are set to be introduced in the Irish Republic. Ulster Secretary Mo Mowlam sickened by the deaths of 28 innocents - said: 'The people who did this are just not human, they are animals." She would not rule out internment in the north.
The Real IRA, opposed to the peace process, is blamed for the 500lb car bomb in the Co. Tyrone town.
Last night a hearse leaving an army base there, bearing two coffins, summed up the unspeakable horror.
The white casket of tiny Maura Monaghan, aged 18 months, lay next to the oak coffin of her 30-year-old mother Avril, who was pregnant with twins. Avril's mother was another victim.
Five arrests in connection with the bombing were made by the RUC yesterday. More are expected.
Most of the active members of the Real IRA live in the south and are known to the security forces. Altogether, they number about 100. The seizing of the ringleaders was discussed yesterday at a four-hour security summit in Belfast.
Ms Mowlam and Irish Republic Justice Minister John O'Donoghue hammered out tactics with RUC chief Ronnie Flanagan and his counterpart in the south, Garda commissioner Pat Byrne.
Vowing to nail those responsible, Ms Mowlam said later: "We are determined to do everything possible to make sure they are taken off the streets.
"We are talking about 30 people who are out to destroy the peace process that the rest of the people in Northern Ireland want to build." She said the re-introduction of internment - where suspects are detained without trial - was still on the agenda.
Ms Mowlam said it had "serious difficulties" and outlined a different approach: "We are looking at making it easier to provide evidence of membership of a proscribed organisation, so we can deal directly with the very small numbers we are dealing with, rather than take sledgehammer powers to tackle a nut."
Justice chief Mr O'Donoghue said the key proposal would involve changes to the Offences Against the State Act in Ireland.
This would allow courts to accept as evidence the word of a chief superintendent.
He added: "It is the firm resolve of the Irish Government to ensure the people who perpetrated this appalling crime will face justice."
Police on both sides of the border agreed to work in close cooperation and step up cross-border security to unprecedented levels.
Both British and Irish governments were trying to beat legal difficulties surrounding the plan.
Further Information
Publisher: THE MIRROR
Ref: TM/019
Published Date: 18-Aug-98
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