TRIAL UNDERWAY MUST BE A RELIEF TO OMAGH BOMB VICTIM FAMILIES
Trial underway must be a relief to Omagh bomb victim families
Every law-abiding person will have heaved a sigh of relief that the Omagh bomb trial has, at last, got started and the families of the dead and injured will be able to follow the court proceedings, if they wish, by video link set up in Omagh College.
Over the past eight years, the people of the town and much further afield have looked forward to the day when those dissident republican group members, believed to be responsible for this dastardly deed, would be charged and brought to court.
Sadly, only two suspects have appeared for their trial: one was convicted for aiding and abetting the other miscreants, the other is currently on trial in a Belfast courtroom and charged with making several bombs, the largest of which wrecked the town centre, destroying the lives of 31 human beings and turning numerous other lives upside down.
One is bound to ask will those who drove the death car into Market Street and planted the bomb ever be tracked down and brought to court like the other two? Perhaps their names are well known to the authorities but the evidence is not available in order to be able to charge them. All of us feel that there has been far too much foot-dragging over the years by various agencies in both jurisdictions.
Some families believe that they all have been badly let down and their own civil action against five named individuals accused of planting the bomb is scheduled to come to court next April. Will the families, I wonder, ever get the justice they seek so passionately and even if the cross-border public inquiry they feel they deserve is granted, will this eventually bring closure to the whole tragic saga?
Somehow, I have my doubts. I honestly believe that many of us will never live to see this come to pass. Of course, nothing that the grieving families (and there have been so many in the province) can do will ever bring loved ones back. The names of the Omagh dead will, of course, always be remembered. In fact, 28 names were read out in court on the opening day of the trial; two of them were personal friends of mine.
Many of the bereaved relatives have now become household names, through being seen so often on television and one or two being heard so frequently on radio and TV interviews.
Other families, however, are not so well known, as they have always preferred to grieve in the privacy of their own homes, cherishing lovely memories of their loved ones. There are also a very large number of individuals who were injured, some seriously, who are unknown to the general public, but who may still be suffering pain and distress.
Why is it, I wonder, that people in the town and elsewhere seldom, if ever, hear of these good people? Perhaps they too wish to be left alone to get on with their lives. Wouldn't it be such a nice gesture if some of them, together with a few of the bereaved family members, could be given a little reception by our district council in one of their civic buildings. What do your readers think?
W. Breen Omagh
Every law-abiding person will have heaved a sigh of relief that the Omagh bomb trial has, at last, got started and the families of the dead and injured will be able to follow the court proceedings, if they wish, by video link set up in Omagh College.
Over the past eight years, the people of the town and much further afield have looked forward to the day when those dissident republican group members, believed to be responsible for this dastardly deed, would be charged and brought to court.
Sadly, only two suspects have appeared for their trial: one was convicted for aiding and abetting the other miscreants, the other is currently on trial in a Belfast courtroom and charged with making several bombs, the largest of which wrecked the town centre, destroying the lives of 31 human beings and turning numerous other lives upside down.
One is bound to ask will those who drove the death car into Market Street and planted the bomb ever be tracked down and brought to court like the other two? Perhaps their names are well known to the authorities but the evidence is not available in order to be able to charge them. All of us feel that there has been far too much foot-dragging over the years by various agencies in both jurisdictions.
Some families believe that they all have been badly let down and their own civil action against five named individuals accused of planting the bomb is scheduled to come to court next April. Will the families, I wonder, ever get the justice they seek so passionately and even if the cross-border public inquiry they feel they deserve is granted, will this eventually bring closure to the whole tragic saga?
Somehow, I have my doubts. I honestly believe that many of us will never live to see this come to pass. Of course, nothing that the grieving families (and there have been so many in the province) can do will ever bring loved ones back. The names of the Omagh dead will, of course, always be remembered. In fact, 28 names were read out in court on the opening day of the trial; two of them were personal friends of mine.
Many of the bereaved relatives have now become household names, through being seen so often on television and one or two being heard so frequently on radio and TV interviews.
Other families, however, are not so well known, as they have always preferred to grieve in the privacy of their own homes, cherishing lovely memories of their loved ones. There are also a very large number of individuals who were injured, some seriously, who are unknown to the general public, but who may still be suffering pain and distress.
Why is it, I wonder, that people in the town and elsewhere seldom, if ever, hear of these good people? Perhaps they too wish to be left alone to get on with their lives. Wouldn't it be such a nice gesture if some of them, together with a few of the bereaved family members, could be given a little reception by our district council in one of their civic buildings. What do your readers think?
W. Breen Omagh
Further Information
Publisher: ULSTER HERALD
Ref: UH/1872
Published Date: 12-Oct-06
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