INADEQUATE PLANS TO COMBAT TERROR ATTACK CLAIM
Inadequate plans to combat terror attack - claim
AFTER having come through thirty years of 'war' or 'Troubles' Northern Ireland is still not ready to defend itself against terrorist attacks.That was the view of Mark Breslin, who lost his wife, Geraldine, in the Omagh bombing just six years ago Mr Breslin was speaking on Monday, as relatives of those killed and injured in the atrocity lobbied the Human Rights Commission to support calls for a cross-border public inquiry.
Mr Breslin suggested preparations for responding to a major terrorist incident were either non existent or wrapped up in secrecy and security.
He has spent some five years studying world-wide preparations and has warned that the authorities fall way behind what is to be expected in such a situation.
"Councils throughout Britain are required by law to have and to publish emergency plans, however, there is a great deal of uncertainty as to whether the same law expends to Northern Ireland. The situation is further complicated by the fact that security forces on both sides of the border were actually implicated either by neglect or collusion in what was in fact, the single largest terrorist incident in the North, - the Omagh bombing".
Mr Breslin called for a root and branch approach to preparing for a terrorist attack.
AFTER having come through thirty years of 'war' or 'Troubles' Northern Ireland is still not ready to defend itself against terrorist attacks.That was the view of Mark Breslin, who lost his wife, Geraldine, in the Omagh bombing just six years ago Mr Breslin was speaking on Monday, as relatives of those killed and injured in the atrocity lobbied the Human Rights Commission to support calls for a cross-border public inquiry.
Mr Breslin suggested preparations for responding to a major terrorist incident were either non existent or wrapped up in secrecy and security.
He has spent some five years studying world-wide preparations and has warned that the authorities fall way behind what is to be expected in such a situation.
"Councils throughout Britain are required by law to have and to publish emergency plans, however, there is a great deal of uncertainty as to whether the same law expends to Northern Ireland. The situation is further complicated by the fact that security forces on both sides of the border were actually implicated either by neglect or collusion in what was in fact, the single largest terrorist incident in the North, - the Omagh bombing".
Mr Breslin called for a root and branch approach to preparing for a terrorist attack.
Further Information
Publisher: ULSTER HERALD
Ref: UH/1682
Published Date: 12-Aug-04
Related Images
There have been no images archived for this article.