BRITISH MINISTERS BACK OMAGH BOMB DIGITAL ARCHIVE
British Ministers back Omagh bomb digital archive
BY PETER KELLY
LEADING MPs in the House of Commons strongly backed the Omagh families' online archive launch last Wednesday.
As the victims' group gathered in Omagh College for the event, Shadow Secretaries of State from the Conservative and Liberal Democrats parties sent special messages of support from London. They were read aloud to the packed audience present during the evening.
David Lidington, Opposition Secretary of State, spoke of the group's efforts to secure justice. "I want to express my support for this initiative by the Omagh families" he said. "They have suffered so much, yet are determined to seek not only justice but also reconciliation between the divided communities of Northern Ireland."
"Their courage, steadfastness and generosity of spirit is an example to us all" he continued.
County Down-born Lembit Opik, the prominent member of the Liberal Democrats' front bench and onetime rumoured party leader candidate has highlighted the group's efforts.
He said, "this online archive will no doubt prove to be a valuable resource to all those who wish to learn about the tragedy of the Omagh bombing and I hope that it can be used to promote further reconciliation in Northern Ireland and further afield."
However, the most passionate message of support came from the Conservatives' Shadow NI Laurence Robertson, who interrupted a California trip to voice his admiration and empathy for the families.
"I was in the Republic of Ireland the day the bomb went off at Omagh and I was in Dundalk the day after" he revealed. "There was widespread horror in the areas I visited during that week and I have since visited Omagh and stood on the spot the bomb went off."
"I have looked into the period running up to the day the bomb went off in terms of security, policing and intelligence and can understand the deep sense of hurt and confusion felt by those who lost loved ones at Omagh on that terrible day."
He continued, "The Omagh families deserve justice. And they deserve clarifications. And the people who were murdered deserve remembering.
"The greatest possible tribute to them would be the securing of a permanent peace. Even if that is achieved, however, the victims must never be forgotten, and I hope that this project will ensure that they will be remembered forever."
At the launch in Omagh College's Lecture Theatre, the website was unveiled by Deric Henderson from the Press Association of Ireland and Paul Clark from UTV 'Live at 6' programme.
Over 70 guests attended the launch, among them were families of victims of the Omagh Bomb, representatives from victims groups, RTE, the Department of Foreign Affairs, statutory organisations and historian and prize-winning biographer Ruth Dudley Edwards.
The aim of the launch was to not only to raise public awareness of the Archive but to recognise the achievement of victim's families, volunteers and members of OSSHG. The archive is based on the collection newspaper articles; video and audio recordings relating to not only the Omagh Bombing but other global terrorist atrocities housed in Omagh Support and Self Help Group offices. Material is being researched and added to the Archive on a daily basis, at present online visitors can access over 5,000 articles.
It is the hope of OSSHG that the archive will be utilised as an educational tool which will support understanding and learning in order to support continued Peace and Reconciliation.
Fund has enabled OSSHG to officially launch the Digital Archive. Many of the guests had the opportunity to browse through the site and offer their views after the launch.
BY PETER KELLY
LEADING MPs in the House of Commons strongly backed the Omagh families' online archive launch last Wednesday.
As the victims' group gathered in Omagh College for the event, Shadow Secretaries of State from the Conservative and Liberal Democrats parties sent special messages of support from London. They were read aloud to the packed audience present during the evening.
David Lidington, Opposition Secretary of State, spoke of the group's efforts to secure justice. "I want to express my support for this initiative by the Omagh families" he said. "They have suffered so much, yet are determined to seek not only justice but also reconciliation between the divided communities of Northern Ireland."
"Their courage, steadfastness and generosity of spirit is an example to us all" he continued.
County Down-born Lembit Opik, the prominent member of the Liberal Democrats' front bench and onetime rumoured party leader candidate has highlighted the group's efforts.
He said, "this online archive will no doubt prove to be a valuable resource to all those who wish to learn about the tragedy of the Omagh bombing and I hope that it can be used to promote further reconciliation in Northern Ireland and further afield."
However, the most passionate message of support came from the Conservatives' Shadow NI Laurence Robertson, who interrupted a California trip to voice his admiration and empathy for the families.
"I was in the Republic of Ireland the day the bomb went off at Omagh and I was in Dundalk the day after" he revealed. "There was widespread horror in the areas I visited during that week and I have since visited Omagh and stood on the spot the bomb went off."
"I have looked into the period running up to the day the bomb went off in terms of security, policing and intelligence and can understand the deep sense of hurt and confusion felt by those who lost loved ones at Omagh on that terrible day."
He continued, "The Omagh families deserve justice. And they deserve clarifications. And the people who were murdered deserve remembering.
"The greatest possible tribute to them would be the securing of a permanent peace. Even if that is achieved, however, the victims must never be forgotten, and I hope that this project will ensure that they will be remembered forever."
At the launch in Omagh College's Lecture Theatre, the website was unveiled by Deric Henderson from the Press Association of Ireland and Paul Clark from UTV 'Live at 6' programme.
Over 70 guests attended the launch, among them were families of victims of the Omagh Bomb, representatives from victims groups, RTE, the Department of Foreign Affairs, statutory organisations and historian and prize-winning biographer Ruth Dudley Edwards.
The aim of the launch was to not only to raise public awareness of the Archive but to recognise the achievement of victim's families, volunteers and members of OSSHG. The archive is based on the collection newspaper articles; video and audio recordings relating to not only the Omagh Bombing but other global terrorist atrocities housed in Omagh Support and Self Help Group offices. Material is being researched and added to the Archive on a daily basis, at present online visitors can access over 5,000 articles.
It is the hope of OSSHG that the archive will be utilised as an educational tool which will support understanding and learning in order to support continued Peace and Reconciliation.
Fund has enabled OSSHG to officially launch the Digital Archive. Many of the guests had the opportunity to browse through the site and offer their views after the launch.
Further Information
Publisher: ULSTER HERALD
Ref: UH/1893
Published Date: 12-Apr-07
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