REAL IRA TO BE OUTLAWED IN AMERICA
Real IRA to be outlawed in America
THE designation this week by the USA of the Real IRA is long overdue. The decision to outlaw any fundraising activities by the dissident republican group which bombed Omagh almost three years ago, is a small gesture towards the many victims of the bomb and their families.
Such a move by the American government means that the Real IRA cannot raise money or recruit members without breaking the law. Trips to the States by their supporters will be made impossible because of the refusal to grant visas. Financial assets of the Real IRA can be frozen.
To many people in Omagh, the American government has been too slow to act and that given the extent of the atrocity, the dissident republican group should have been banned immediately.
Such a move would have stifled the money and support which has made its way across the 'pond' to the coffers of the Real IRA in the intervening years.
Since the bomb, some members of the Omagh Victim's Support group have been dedicated to bringing those behind the bomb to justice. This has undoubtedly been a very arduous task and also a very painful one.
Taking on the governments in Ireland, England and the US is no mean feat and the group is to be credited for its perseverance.
The search for the truth and justice can be a long and lonely road and as the Bloody Sunday Enquiry has shown, governments and security forces do not like to part with information.
But the local group should take one comfort from the Bloody Sunday investigations. It is that it is never too late to find out the truth.
Almost three decades later the contentious incidents of that day are being laid bare for everyone to see. The same should be true for the Omagh bomb.
If as appears likely, the Courts fail to bring the perpetrators to justice, then the families should keep up the pressure and leave no stone unturned in their attempts to get to the bottom of who really made the decision to bomb Omagh on that fateful day and who carried it out.
THE designation this week by the USA of the Real IRA is long overdue. The decision to outlaw any fundraising activities by the dissident republican group which bombed Omagh almost three years ago, is a small gesture towards the many victims of the bomb and their families.
Such a move by the American government means that the Real IRA cannot raise money or recruit members without breaking the law. Trips to the States by their supporters will be made impossible because of the refusal to grant visas. Financial assets of the Real IRA can be frozen.
To many people in Omagh, the American government has been too slow to act and that given the extent of the atrocity, the dissident republican group should have been banned immediately.
Such a move would have stifled the money and support which has made its way across the 'pond' to the coffers of the Real IRA in the intervening years.
Since the bomb, some members of the Omagh Victim's Support group have been dedicated to bringing those behind the bomb to justice. This has undoubtedly been a very arduous task and also a very painful one.
Taking on the governments in Ireland, England and the US is no mean feat and the group is to be credited for its perseverance.
The search for the truth and justice can be a long and lonely road and as the Bloody Sunday Enquiry has shown, governments and security forces do not like to part with information.
But the local group should take one comfort from the Bloody Sunday investigations. It is that it is never too late to find out the truth.
Almost three decades later the contentious incidents of that day are being laid bare for everyone to see. The same should be true for the Omagh bomb.
If as appears likely, the Courts fail to bring the perpetrators to justice, then the families should keep up the pressure and leave no stone unturned in their attempts to get to the bottom of who really made the decision to bomb Omagh on that fateful day and who carried it out.
Further Information
Publisher: ULSTER HERALD
Ref: UH/0768
Published Date: 17-May-01
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