US WILL NEVER GET JUSTICE
US will never get justice if they follow the example of Blair & Ahern in Omagh
By MICHAEL GALLAGHER
whoseAidan was killed by the Real IRA in the Omagh Bomb
Victims Dad calls for action
WHEN my daughter phoned to tell me a plane had been hijacked by terrorists, I felt terrible.
But when she said in the same breath that it had been flown deliberately into the World Trade Center. I desperately wanted to believe she was mistaken.
But no. While her voice was shaking, her words were clear - and I'll never forget them.
She said. "Oh my God Daddy. They've flown a second plane into the other building.
"Two other planes have crashed. One of them crashed in Washington, I don't know where the other one is. Oh Daddy it's awful."
For the rest of the day we watched the television in disbelief of what was happening.
We heard that the President of the USA had gone into hiding and I honestly thought we were about to witness the end of the world.
Certainly life was no longer certain, and our thoughts and prayers were with those people we instinctively knew would never be coming back.
Of course we in Omagh, have been here before. I've lived through thedisbelief that such evil could exist. I've lived through the heart breaking hope that Aidan was still alive.
I've lived through the devastation of seeing, his body, lying still and knowing that I was never going to see my boy alive again.
There was no relief in that realisation, there was no comfort that he had been taken quickly - there was only crushing despair and hot, burning tears.
I'd kept hoping against hope that the people at the hospital had made a mistake, but then my hopes were dashed and I started this life I live today without Aidan.
The horror of Omagh has not left us yet - it never will while we have to live without the people we love.
But when I saw the horrific explosion at the World Trade Center and the fire as the plane hit the tower I thought back to that day in Omagh.
I had a rush of emotions I can't explain, a mixture of sadness, anger, anxiety and pain.
After hearing the explosion from my home, I drove back towards Omagh and saw the ball of smoke rising over the town.
I remember thinking later that as that smoke was whipping up into the blue sky, life was leaving Aidan.
And I had the same thoughts for those lost souls on Tuesday, September 11.
I have thought time and again - where do we go from here?
One of the most remarkable things I saw after the attacks on the US was the unity - the almost immediate unity - of the American people.
They came from many countries and faiths to make one people, but all of them showed such a unity against those who brought so much unnecessary suffering to their country.
We here in Ireland have suffered from the evil of terrorism for over 30 years - from extremists from both communities - but we have not seen such determined action from the Prime Minister or our own people.
After the atrocity at Omagh promises were made about what was going to be done. But today - 1,135 days after the murder of 31 people including two unborn babies - not one person has been charged with a single murder, not one person has been brought to justice.
And when I see the efforts made by the press, particularly television programmes such as Panorama, to expose those involved all I hear is the wail of the do-gooders crying about human rights.
No such thoughts were evident from those who walked away from the red Cavalier car filled with explosives on August 15. 1998.
No such thoughts when they murdered my son at 3.10pm.
No worries about the human rights of the people killed and injured as Omagh was blown apart.
They are no different from the terrorist brutes who murdered in America.
We in Omagh are still waiting for justice - but every day that goes past I lose faith in a government that knows every detail of the terrorists who attacked Omagh and still fails to bring them to justice.
And while I wait for justice for my son and all the other people murdered and maimed in Omagh, I pray, wish and hope that I will see action against the terrorists responsible for them US atrocities.
Ireland and Britain are selective in their choice of acceptable terrorists and terrorism. America must not do this.
The people of America, the families of the lost and injured - no-one will see justice done in the US if George Bush follows the example set by Tony Blair and Bertie Ahern in the fight against terrorism on this small island.
There are many here who realise there is no acceptable level of terrorism and no acceptable terrorist.
But many more will continue to sit on the fence when it comes to dealing with this problem - in fact, it would appear that many people are practically impaled on that fence of inertia.
Now I urge the Prime Minister Tony Blair to treat ALL terrorists in the same way because they will continue to murder innocent people if he does not.
Sadly, we have seen terrorists being rewarded by the very government they sought to destroy.
Their demands have been met while we have been asked to be good democrats and accept something which makes us sick to the heart.
I feel sad that the people of Ireland cannot unite like the people of America and denounce all terrorism.
We stood together and denounced the terror attacks on America. Why can we not denounce the attacks on our own people?
I visited New York and Washington in January to ask the government to put the Real IRA on the foreign terrorist list and to ask the people of America not to support terrorism by fund-raising.
The Real IRA were included on the list in March but I remained convinced there were many in America who continued to raise money for the use of terrorists in Ireland.
Now I have requested a meeting with Tony Blair to discuss our position in Omagh in light of the American atrocity and bring the same determination to our fight for justice.
By MICHAEL GALLAGHER
whoseAidan was killed by the Real IRA in the Omagh Bomb
Victims Dad calls for action
WHEN my daughter phoned to tell me a plane had been hijacked by terrorists, I felt terrible.
But when she said in the same breath that it had been flown deliberately into the World Trade Center. I desperately wanted to believe she was mistaken.
But no. While her voice was shaking, her words were clear - and I'll never forget them.
She said. "Oh my God Daddy. They've flown a second plane into the other building.
"Two other planes have crashed. One of them crashed in Washington, I don't know where the other one is. Oh Daddy it's awful."
For the rest of the day we watched the television in disbelief of what was happening.
We heard that the President of the USA had gone into hiding and I honestly thought we were about to witness the end of the world.
Certainly life was no longer certain, and our thoughts and prayers were with those people we instinctively knew would never be coming back.
Of course we in Omagh, have been here before. I've lived through thedisbelief that such evil could exist. I've lived through the heart breaking hope that Aidan was still alive.
I've lived through the devastation of seeing, his body, lying still and knowing that I was never going to see my boy alive again.
There was no relief in that realisation, there was no comfort that he had been taken quickly - there was only crushing despair and hot, burning tears.
I'd kept hoping against hope that the people at the hospital had made a mistake, but then my hopes were dashed and I started this life I live today without Aidan.
The horror of Omagh has not left us yet - it never will while we have to live without the people we love.
But when I saw the horrific explosion at the World Trade Center and the fire as the plane hit the tower I thought back to that day in Omagh.
I had a rush of emotions I can't explain, a mixture of sadness, anger, anxiety and pain.
After hearing the explosion from my home, I drove back towards Omagh and saw the ball of smoke rising over the town.
I remember thinking later that as that smoke was whipping up into the blue sky, life was leaving Aidan.
And I had the same thoughts for those lost souls on Tuesday, September 11.
I have thought time and again - where do we go from here?
One of the most remarkable things I saw after the attacks on the US was the unity - the almost immediate unity - of the American people.
They came from many countries and faiths to make one people, but all of them showed such a unity against those who brought so much unnecessary suffering to their country.
We here in Ireland have suffered from the evil of terrorism for over 30 years - from extremists from both communities - but we have not seen such determined action from the Prime Minister or our own people.
After the atrocity at Omagh promises were made about what was going to be done. But today - 1,135 days after the murder of 31 people including two unborn babies - not one person has been charged with a single murder, not one person has been brought to justice.
And when I see the efforts made by the press, particularly television programmes such as Panorama, to expose those involved all I hear is the wail of the do-gooders crying about human rights.
No such thoughts were evident from those who walked away from the red Cavalier car filled with explosives on August 15. 1998.
No such thoughts when they murdered my son at 3.10pm.
No worries about the human rights of the people killed and injured as Omagh was blown apart.
They are no different from the terrorist brutes who murdered in America.
We in Omagh are still waiting for justice - but every day that goes past I lose faith in a government that knows every detail of the terrorists who attacked Omagh and still fails to bring them to justice.
And while I wait for justice for my son and all the other people murdered and maimed in Omagh, I pray, wish and hope that I will see action against the terrorists responsible for them US atrocities.
Ireland and Britain are selective in their choice of acceptable terrorists and terrorism. America must not do this.
The people of America, the families of the lost and injured - no-one will see justice done in the US if George Bush follows the example set by Tony Blair and Bertie Ahern in the fight against terrorism on this small island.
There are many here who realise there is no acceptable level of terrorism and no acceptable terrorist.
But many more will continue to sit on the fence when it comes to dealing with this problem - in fact, it would appear that many people are practically impaled on that fence of inertia.
Now I urge the Prime Minister Tony Blair to treat ALL terrorists in the same way because they will continue to murder innocent people if he does not.
Sadly, we have seen terrorists being rewarded by the very government they sought to destroy.
Their demands have been met while we have been asked to be good democrats and accept something which makes us sick to the heart.
I feel sad that the people of Ireland cannot unite like the people of America and denounce all terrorism.
We stood together and denounced the terror attacks on America. Why can we not denounce the attacks on our own people?
I visited New York and Washington in January to ask the government to put the Real IRA on the foreign terrorist list and to ask the people of America not to support terrorism by fund-raising.
The Real IRA were included on the list in March but I remained convinced there were many in America who continued to raise money for the use of terrorists in Ireland.
Now I have requested a meeting with Tony Blair to discuss our position in Omagh in light of the American atrocity and bring the same determination to our fight for justice.
Further Information
Publisher: THE MIRROR
Ref: TM/137
Published Date: 24-Sep-01
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