SIX INQUIRIES BUT NOT ONE CONVICTION
SIX INQUIRIES.. BUT NOT ONE CONVICTION
By TED OLIVER
Families demand justice on anniversary
HUNDREDS of mourners gathered to mark the fifth anniversary of the Omagh atrocity yesterday and issued a new demand for a cross-border inquiry.
Many wept during the brief ceremony at the garden dedicated to the 29 people and unborn twins murdered in the Real IRA car bomb planted only a few yards away.
The families of those who died have decided not to hold a service each year.
Michael Gallagher, whose 21-year-old son Aidan was killed in the blast, said: "Like the entire town we have to move on.
"We will come back for the 10th anniversary but each year we will remember our loved ones quietly. They will never be forgotten."
This month the families have seen Real IRA leader Michael McKevitt jailed in Dublin and they are being given �800,000 of Government money to complete the funding - for their civil action against the men they hold most responsible for the bombing. Caroline Martin, whose sister Esther Gibson was one of the dead, demanded a public inquiry in the name of all the families of victims.
She said: "After five years of criminal investigations we are now calling on the Dublin and London governments to give the families a full public inquiry.
"There have been six investigations into Omagh without convictions and we now want the truth." Ms Martin also thanked all those who had helped the dying and injured on the day of the bombing. She added: "They showed great courage in the face of wickedness and evil."
The memorial service was conducted in Irish, English and Spanish to show that the bomb claimed victims from across the divide in the town as well as two Spanish tourists.
Godfrey Wilson, almost in tears, remembered his 15-year-old daughter Lorraine.
He said: "It is hard every day of the year. But it's harder on the anniversary.
"We keep on fighting for justice because we need real peace in the country to let the kids like our Lorraine grow up and lead proper lives. Her's was taken away from us but we don't want it to happen to any other family."
Taoiseach Bertie Ahern was not at the service but said in a statement he was "very conscious of the pain and suffering endured by victims of the Omagh bombing and their relatives and of the sadness and grief that attends the fifth anniversary of that appalling atrocity".
Mr Ahern added: "The Government is committed to pursuing the perpetrators of the Omagh bombing and achieving justice for the victims."
Security Minister Jane Kennedy said the investigation into the bombing was continuing and that police were "confident" of convictions.
But she declined to give any indication of how soon a prosecution could be expected.
Ms Kennedy added: "Five years on from the atrocity, today is about commemorating those who lost their lives in that event and those many more who were injured."
By TED OLIVER
Families demand justice on anniversary
HUNDREDS of mourners gathered to mark the fifth anniversary of the Omagh atrocity yesterday and issued a new demand for a cross-border inquiry.
Many wept during the brief ceremony at the garden dedicated to the 29 people and unborn twins murdered in the Real IRA car bomb planted only a few yards away.
The families of those who died have decided not to hold a service each year.
Michael Gallagher, whose 21-year-old son Aidan was killed in the blast, said: "Like the entire town we have to move on.
"We will come back for the 10th anniversary but each year we will remember our loved ones quietly. They will never be forgotten."
This month the families have seen Real IRA leader Michael McKevitt jailed in Dublin and they are being given �800,000 of Government money to complete the funding - for their civil action against the men they hold most responsible for the bombing. Caroline Martin, whose sister Esther Gibson was one of the dead, demanded a public inquiry in the name of all the families of victims.
She said: "After five years of criminal investigations we are now calling on the Dublin and London governments to give the families a full public inquiry.
"There have been six investigations into Omagh without convictions and we now want the truth." Ms Martin also thanked all those who had helped the dying and injured on the day of the bombing. She added: "They showed great courage in the face of wickedness and evil."
The memorial service was conducted in Irish, English and Spanish to show that the bomb claimed victims from across the divide in the town as well as two Spanish tourists.
Godfrey Wilson, almost in tears, remembered his 15-year-old daughter Lorraine.
He said: "It is hard every day of the year. But it's harder on the anniversary.
"We keep on fighting for justice because we need real peace in the country to let the kids like our Lorraine grow up and lead proper lives. Her's was taken away from us but we don't want it to happen to any other family."
Taoiseach Bertie Ahern was not at the service but said in a statement he was "very conscious of the pain and suffering endured by victims of the Omagh bombing and their relatives and of the sadness and grief that attends the fifth anniversary of that appalling atrocity".
Mr Ahern added: "The Government is committed to pursuing the perpetrators of the Omagh bombing and achieving justice for the victims."
Security Minister Jane Kennedy said the investigation into the bombing was continuing and that police were "confident" of convictions.
But she declined to give any indication of how soon a prosecution could be expected.
Ms Kennedy added: "Five years on from the atrocity, today is about commemorating those who lost their lives in that event and those many more who were injured."
Further Information
Publisher: THE MIRROR
Ref: TM/192
Published Date: 16-Aug-03
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