FLANAGAN IS ON WAY OUT ANYWAY
Flanagan is on way out anyway
The investigation of the single worst atrocity of the Troubles should never have come down to this. Nor should the relatives of victims and the survivors of the Omagh bombing be subjected to the politicking that has revolved around the Police Ombudsman's Report into the investigation.
Yet for two months and more, the issue has been flailed along with the principal characters in this tragedy of errors. The public denouncements have been partisan and the points raised along the way selectively chosen to get in another dig.
Now as the Policing Board scrambles towards a solution, backed up by expert advice and repeated urges to 'compromise' between the warring sides, the issue has become one of saving face. The primary goal should be learning from mistakes and there were many hidden in the admissions of the Chief Constable himself and getting on with the job of pursuing the bombers, their aiders and abettors and anyone who may have hand, act or part in the atrocity which claimed 31 lives in Omagh on a sunny August afternoon more than three years ago.
Is there a way out of all this? Certainly there is. The chief constable has already announced his impending resignation and is serving out his notice. He should be facilitated in vacating his office as soon as possible. That would remove from the scene one of the major contenders. Let the politicians heap all the praise they wish on Sir Ronnie Flanagan for his work, but only at their peril should they use those accolades to damage the office of the Police Ombudsman who turned up public answers to the questions that -the relatives of the Omagh victims have been asking throughout the course of this investigation.
Let that be an end of it, and let Secretary of State John Reid then step in to facilitate the appointment of a new Chief Constable who might have a real chance to win the trust of all sections of the population he will undertake to 'serve and protect'.
The investigation of the single worst atrocity of the Troubles should never have come down to this. Nor should the relatives of victims and the survivors of the Omagh bombing be subjected to the politicking that has revolved around the Police Ombudsman's Report into the investigation.
Yet for two months and more, the issue has been flailed along with the principal characters in this tragedy of errors. The public denouncements have been partisan and the points raised along the way selectively chosen to get in another dig.
Now as the Policing Board scrambles towards a solution, backed up by expert advice and repeated urges to 'compromise' between the warring sides, the issue has become one of saving face. The primary goal should be learning from mistakes and there were many hidden in the admissions of the Chief Constable himself and getting on with the job of pursuing the bombers, their aiders and abettors and anyone who may have hand, act or part in the atrocity which claimed 31 lives in Omagh on a sunny August afternoon more than three years ago.
Is there a way out of all this? Certainly there is. The chief constable has already announced his impending resignation and is serving out his notice. He should be facilitated in vacating his office as soon as possible. That would remove from the scene one of the major contenders. Let the politicians heap all the praise they wish on Sir Ronnie Flanagan for his work, but only at their peril should they use those accolades to damage the office of the Police Ombudsman who turned up public answers to the questions that -the relatives of the Omagh victims have been asking throughout the course of this investigation.
Let that be an end of it, and let Secretary of State John Reid then step in to facilitate the appointment of a new Chief Constable who might have a real chance to win the trust of all sections of the population he will undertake to 'serve and protect'.
Further Information
Publisher: ULSTER HERALD
Ref: UH/0957
Published Date: 07-Feb-02
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