OMAGH STANDS ALONE
Omagh stands alone
As the families of the victims of the Omagh bomb ready themselves for a meeting with the Chief Constable, Ronnie Flanagan, the pain of their grief will once again become apparent. They should never have had to fight for justice for their loved ones, from the first moment; the Omagh families have struggled against secrecy, diverse agenda, and sinister motivation as they seek the truth about the events of August 15 1998. The Omagh families have been let down by the British government and sometimes secretly and sometimes openly betrayed by politicians whose only concern should be the welfare of their constituents.
However, perhaps the greatest betrayal has been by the media which, whilst feeding voraciously on the grief and the tragedy of Omagh, has all but abandoned the Omagh families as they seek justice.
When the O'Loan report was published in December, there was the usual feeding frenzy, but as the government spin doctors, police agencies and unionist and loyalist politicians got to work on impugning the reputation of the Police Ombudsman, the 'free press', the journalists and commentators, the investigators and programme makers quickly backed-off. We know why, we know that the state in all of its expressions and formations in Northern Ireland tells the majority of journalists and media outlets what the news agenda should be. The logic has always been in Northern Ireland 'don't criticise the police or you criticise the state and once you do that you play into the hand of the terrorists.' Therefore, for the past 33 years journalists and others have written on just about everything but the behaviour of those who really run the state.
In the UK, the Stephen Lawrence case made headlines intermittently for several months, more recently the case of the murdered child Sarah Payne has been given the proper coverage. Hardly a day goes by but investigative journalists are unearthing something new in these cases, and in each instance more information is given fresh coverage, and appropriate prominence.
In Omagh, 31 people were murdered and about 400 injured. The police have been implicated in failing to protect the people of Omagh perhaps worse. There were numerous flaws, mistakes and omissions in the investigation into the bomb and yet only the occasional story makes it into the daily press and few, if any, reach the UK.
In the bombing of Omagh, the Real IRA admitted responsibility that is a fact. It is also a fact that Special Branch were told Omagh would be bombed. That Ronnie Flanagan and others hindered the Ombudsman's investigation is also a fact.
All of this points to a scandal of untold proportions; why then are the renowned journalists of the British and Irish press not relentlessly pursing this story? Why is it that the people who have already suffered so much have to bear the burden of investigating this affair for themselves? The truth may be that there is a trail of blood from Omagh to Whitehall and who has the courage to follow that?
As the families of the victims of the Omagh bomb ready themselves for a meeting with the Chief Constable, Ronnie Flanagan, the pain of their grief will once again become apparent. They should never have had to fight for justice for their loved ones, from the first moment; the Omagh families have struggled against secrecy, diverse agenda, and sinister motivation as they seek the truth about the events of August 15 1998. The Omagh families have been let down by the British government and sometimes secretly and sometimes openly betrayed by politicians whose only concern should be the welfare of their constituents.
However, perhaps the greatest betrayal has been by the media which, whilst feeding voraciously on the grief and the tragedy of Omagh, has all but abandoned the Omagh families as they seek justice.
When the O'Loan report was published in December, there was the usual feeding frenzy, but as the government spin doctors, police agencies and unionist and loyalist politicians got to work on impugning the reputation of the Police Ombudsman, the 'free press', the journalists and commentators, the investigators and programme makers quickly backed-off. We know why, we know that the state in all of its expressions and formations in Northern Ireland tells the majority of journalists and media outlets what the news agenda should be. The logic has always been in Northern Ireland 'don't criticise the police or you criticise the state and once you do that you play into the hand of the terrorists.' Therefore, for the past 33 years journalists and others have written on just about everything but the behaviour of those who really run the state.
In the UK, the Stephen Lawrence case made headlines intermittently for several months, more recently the case of the murdered child Sarah Payne has been given the proper coverage. Hardly a day goes by but investigative journalists are unearthing something new in these cases, and in each instance more information is given fresh coverage, and appropriate prominence.
In Omagh, 31 people were murdered and about 400 injured. The police have been implicated in failing to protect the people of Omagh perhaps worse. There were numerous flaws, mistakes and omissions in the investigation into the bomb and yet only the occasional story makes it into the daily press and few, if any, reach the UK.
In the bombing of Omagh, the Real IRA admitted responsibility that is a fact. It is also a fact that Special Branch were told Omagh would be bombed. That Ronnie Flanagan and others hindered the Ombudsman's investigation is also a fact.
All of this points to a scandal of untold proportions; why then are the renowned journalists of the British and Irish press not relentlessly pursing this story? Why is it that the people who have already suffered so much have to bear the burden of investigating this affair for themselves? The truth may be that there is a trail of blood from Omagh to Whitehall and who has the courage to follow that?
Further Information
Publisher: ULSTER HERALD
Ref: UH/0917
Published Date: 10-Jan-02
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