THEY DID NOT BREAK OMAGH
They did not break Omagh
Ten years of scar tissue has formed on the grief, anger, confusion and disbelief that followed the bomb on August 15, 1998, but few can doubt the hurt and sense of loss that remains in the hearts of those bereaved. Time is a great healer, but lack of justice for the dead and maimed has meant that even ten years has not brought closure or comfort.
Justice and honour are supposed to be natural, rich and flowing with a spirit that reassures victims that their loss will not go unpunished. The reality is that justice is resistant to most inducements and it rings hollow without the fact to back it up. All that remains is truth.
There is no sustainable argument now against a full cross-border inquiry; yet the call for one seems to fall on deaf ears. It is true that such an inquiry will not assuage the suffering, but it may move us closer to the truth of an event that destroyed so many lives. For that reason alone, the governments should consent to such a move.
Sure, it is easy to become fatigued with stories about the blast; the horror is so devastating it cannot but depress the human spirit. But how else can we hope to find closure if we do not use every means to prevent this vile deed being swept under the carpet?
Of course, there is another route to the truth - the cathartic route of those behind this atrocity coming clean at last and throwing themselves on the mercy of the bereaved and injured. Instead, they hide and conspire; their own safety and freedom vastly out-stripping other concern or 'cause', including that which they purport to espouse.
There are other truths in the balance. The butchers of Omagh were only 'successful' because of the clandestine agencies of state which were working to a dark agenda, and for whom human life was expendable if it served their political ends. The O'Loan report showed that the Omagh tragedy could have been prevented, but it was not.
Meanwhile one of the enduring legacies of the Omagh bombing, a consequence that has confounded the murderers and conspirators alike, is that the community rose above the tragedy. People here refused to be polarised and the spirit of cross-community engagement was enhanced, instead of destroyed, by the blast. No, they did not destroy Omagh on August 15, 1998 - but they broke its heart.
Ten years of scar tissue has formed on the grief, anger, confusion and disbelief that followed the bomb on August 15, 1998, but few can doubt the hurt and sense of loss that remains in the hearts of those bereaved. Time is a great healer, but lack of justice for the dead and maimed has meant that even ten years has not brought closure or comfort.
Justice and honour are supposed to be natural, rich and flowing with a spirit that reassures victims that their loss will not go unpunished. The reality is that justice is resistant to most inducements and it rings hollow without the fact to back it up. All that remains is truth.
There is no sustainable argument now against a full cross-border inquiry; yet the call for one seems to fall on deaf ears. It is true that such an inquiry will not assuage the suffering, but it may move us closer to the truth of an event that destroyed so many lives. For that reason alone, the governments should consent to such a move.
Sure, it is easy to become fatigued with stories about the blast; the horror is so devastating it cannot but depress the human spirit. But how else can we hope to find closure if we do not use every means to prevent this vile deed being swept under the carpet?
Of course, there is another route to the truth - the cathartic route of those behind this atrocity coming clean at last and throwing themselves on the mercy of the bereaved and injured. Instead, they hide and conspire; their own safety and freedom vastly out-stripping other concern or 'cause', including that which they purport to espouse.
There are other truths in the balance. The butchers of Omagh were only 'successful' because of the clandestine agencies of state which were working to a dark agenda, and for whom human life was expendable if it served their political ends. The O'Loan report showed that the Omagh tragedy could have been prevented, but it was not.
Meanwhile one of the enduring legacies of the Omagh bombing, a consequence that has confounded the murderers and conspirators alike, is that the community rose above the tragedy. People here refused to be polarised and the spirit of cross-community engagement was enhanced, instead of destroyed, by the blast. No, they did not destroy Omagh on August 15, 1998 - but they broke its heart.
Further Information
Publisher: ULSTER HERALD
Ref: UH10An/19
Published Date: 14-Aug-08
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