HOEY ACQUITTAL THROWS DOUBT ON POLICING AND JUSTICE ISSUES
Hoey acquittal throws doubt on policing and justice issues
BY ROSETTA DONNELLY
r.donnelly@ulsterherald.com
THE acquittal of Sean Hoey last Thursday - five days before Christmas - was traumatic for the Omagh families. Even though many voiced their concern over the evidence presented by police during the 56 day hearing, the news that no-one is to serve time for the atrocity was hard to take.
The trial had dominated much of the year, with the hearing taking place at the High Court in Belfast and with a video-link to Omagh.
The Lord Chief Justice Weir adjourned the case to read the mountain of evidence against the accused. However despite the length of the trial and volume of evidence, many people felt angry at the prosecution case. These sentiments were voiced by Kevin Skelton, who lost his wife Philomena in the attack, and who said even he would not convict Hoey on evidence presented.
The decision on the final wording on the Omagh bomb memorial also rumbled on with the families fighting the council
decision not to accept the wording suggested by them. A mediator was brought in and an architect was selected to put in place the actual memorial but there is still no end in sight or agreement on the wording.
The year also saw the shake-up in policing locally with District Command Units being reduced from 29 to 8, the setting up of District Policing Partnerships and the election of Sinn Fein members onto the DPP boards.
Gerry Adams and his teams travelled to the heartland of Republicanism to sell policing to the more hardline members. And he succeeded with a meeting of the ard dheis in Dublin endorsing his proposal to join the PSNI. However some party members on the ground are reluctant to sit on the DPP with Omagh just making the deadline last month. Sinn Fein in Strabane missed the deadline and failed to elect members onto the DPP and these seats are now taken by the DUP.
Orange parades have always been contentious and this year was no different. Nationalists accused Castlederg PSNI of partial policing and such was the row which brewed, Nuala O'Loan attended a public meeting in Castlederg to hear for herself what the problems were.
Another major topic hotly debated was the introduction of NCP parking attendants taking over the role of the PSNI traffic wardens. The number of tickets issued locally jumped from 86 to 859 the following month. The impact of parking attendants was felt in the bigger towns of Omagh and Strabane but also in the smaller villages. The traders reacted furiously to the tickets being dispensed saying they were driving shoppers away to the out-of-town shopping centres where parking would be free.
Operation Banner marked the official end of the military campaign and Lisanelly Barracks in Omagh closed its doors in August. The large sprawling camp was controversial when it was a base for the British Army and the RIR, and the future of the camp is also proving quite controversial
The new Finance Minister Peter Robinson says he will not be handing it over to the community as lobbied by local representatives.
BY ROSETTA DONNELLY
r.donnelly@ulsterherald.com
THE acquittal of Sean Hoey last Thursday - five days before Christmas - was traumatic for the Omagh families. Even though many voiced their concern over the evidence presented by police during the 56 day hearing, the news that no-one is to serve time for the atrocity was hard to take.
The trial had dominated much of the year, with the hearing taking place at the High Court in Belfast and with a video-link to Omagh.
The Lord Chief Justice Weir adjourned the case to read the mountain of evidence against the accused. However despite the length of the trial and volume of evidence, many people felt angry at the prosecution case. These sentiments were voiced by Kevin Skelton, who lost his wife Philomena in the attack, and who said even he would not convict Hoey on evidence presented.
The decision on the final wording on the Omagh bomb memorial also rumbled on with the families fighting the council
decision not to accept the wording suggested by them. A mediator was brought in and an architect was selected to put in place the actual memorial but there is still no end in sight or agreement on the wording.
The year also saw the shake-up in policing locally with District Command Units being reduced from 29 to 8, the setting up of District Policing Partnerships and the election of Sinn Fein members onto the DPP boards.
Gerry Adams and his teams travelled to the heartland of Republicanism to sell policing to the more hardline members. And he succeeded with a meeting of the ard dheis in Dublin endorsing his proposal to join the PSNI. However some party members on the ground are reluctant to sit on the DPP with Omagh just making the deadline last month. Sinn Fein in Strabane missed the deadline and failed to elect members onto the DPP and these seats are now taken by the DUP.
Orange parades have always been contentious and this year was no different. Nationalists accused Castlederg PSNI of partial policing and such was the row which brewed, Nuala O'Loan attended a public meeting in Castlederg to hear for herself what the problems were.
Another major topic hotly debated was the introduction of NCP parking attendants taking over the role of the PSNI traffic wardens. The number of tickets issued locally jumped from 86 to 859 the following month. The impact of parking attendants was felt in the bigger towns of Omagh and Strabane but also in the smaller villages. The traders reacted furiously to the tickets being dispensed saying they were driving shoppers away to the out-of-town shopping centres where parking would be free.
Operation Banner marked the official end of the military campaign and Lisanelly Barracks in Omagh closed its doors in August. The large sprawling camp was controversial when it was a base for the British Army and the RIR, and the future of the camp is also proving quite controversial
The new Finance Minister Peter Robinson says he will not be handing it over to the community as lobbied by local representatives.
Further Information
Publisher: ULSTER HERALD
Ref: UH/1917
Published Date: 27-Dec-07
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