OMAGH RELATIVES LAMENT DISAPPOINTING MEETING WITH SECRETARY OF STATE
Omagh relatives lament 'disappointing' meeting with Secretary of State
BYALANRODGERS
a. rodgers@ulsterherald. com
RELATIVES of those killed in the Omagh bomb have vowed to continue their fight despite the failure of the Secretary of State to provide any promises on the prospect of a public inquiry into the 1998 atrocity.
The families met with Owen Paterson for almost three hours at Stormont Castle yesterday (Wednesday).
But afterwards they expressed disappointment that no guarantee was provided on a cross-border probe into the Real IRA blast.
Instead, the Conservative politician said he would look at the evidence handed over by the families, speak to the Dublin Government and await for the outcome of inquiries into the murders of Robert Hamill and Rosemary Nelson.
Speaking to the Ulster Herald after emerging from the meeting, Michael Gallagher of the Omagh Support and Self Help group said Mr Paterson had missed a golden opportunity.
"He said he was not interested in any open-ended and long-running inquiry and pointed out that he would keep an open mind on the issue," said Mr Gallagher.
"But we are disappointed also that our calls for an inquiry have been linked to the outcome of the Robert Hamill and Rosemary Nelson inquiries. These are seperate and totally unrelated to what we are urging.
"The secretary of state has missed an opportunity to provide some degree of closure for the families by not granting our requests," he continued.
The meeting was also attended by West Tyrone MP, Pat Doherty, and representatives from the Alliance Party, SDLP and the Ulster Unionists.
Mr Gallagher said that any attempt to connect the inquiry to the outcome of others could be a breach of their human rights and that they would be taking legal advice on possible future options.
"It seems that if the families of Robert Hamill and Rosemary Nelson do not agree with the findings of their inquiries, then it will be a definite no for Omagh," he continued.
Also speaking after the meeting, Stanley McCombe, said he had left the meeting "no more hopeful" than when he had entered it.
"This is little difference from the response that Shaun Woodward made to our calls for an inquiry. It appears that Owen Paterson is no more interested in this than he was," he said.
"But they should remember that the Omagh families are not going to go away and we will continue our fight to find out what really happened and who knew what about the events of 12 years ago."
BYALANRODGERS
a. rodgers@ulsterherald. com
RELATIVES of those killed in the Omagh bomb have vowed to continue their fight despite the failure of the Secretary of State to provide any promises on the prospect of a public inquiry into the 1998 atrocity.
The families met with Owen Paterson for almost three hours at Stormont Castle yesterday (Wednesday).
But afterwards they expressed disappointment that no guarantee was provided on a cross-border probe into the Real IRA blast.
Instead, the Conservative politician said he would look at the evidence handed over by the families, speak to the Dublin Government and await for the outcome of inquiries into the murders of Robert Hamill and Rosemary Nelson.
Speaking to the Ulster Herald after emerging from the meeting, Michael Gallagher of the Omagh Support and Self Help group said Mr Paterson had missed a golden opportunity.
"He said he was not interested in any open-ended and long-running inquiry and pointed out that he would keep an open mind on the issue," said Mr Gallagher.
"But we are disappointed also that our calls for an inquiry have been linked to the outcome of the Robert Hamill and Rosemary Nelson inquiries. These are seperate and totally unrelated to what we are urging.
"The secretary of state has missed an opportunity to provide some degree of closure for the families by not granting our requests," he continued.
The meeting was also attended by West Tyrone MP, Pat Doherty, and representatives from the Alliance Party, SDLP and the Ulster Unionists.
Mr Gallagher said that any attempt to connect the inquiry to the outcome of others could be a breach of their human rights and that they would be taking legal advice on possible future options.
"It seems that if the families of Robert Hamill and Rosemary Nelson do not agree with the findings of their inquiries, then it will be a definite no for Omagh," he continued.
Also speaking after the meeting, Stanley McCombe, said he had left the meeting "no more hopeful" than when he had entered it.
"This is little difference from the response that Shaun Woodward made to our calls for an inquiry. It appears that Owen Paterson is no more interested in this than he was," he said.
"But they should remember that the Omagh families are not going to go away and we will continue our fight to find out what really happened and who knew what about the events of 12 years ago."
Further Information
Publisher: ULSTER HERALD
Ref: UH/2014
Published Date: 23-Sep-10
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