CLEAR DISTINCTIONS BETWEEN OMAGH BOMB AND BLOODY SUNDAY
Clear distinctions between the Omagh bomb and Bloody Sunday
An anniversary can be good or bad, glad or sad, according to the nature of the occasion or event Some commemorations receive more media coverage than others.
The murders on 30 January 1972 'Bloody Sunday' and its aftermath receive almost universal recall. The Omagh bomb incident of August 15 1998 does not attract quite the same amount of interest or attention. On 'Bloody Sunday 14 people were killed whilst taking part in an illegal march and demonstration. In Omagh, more than twice as many people were killed :31 fatalities including unborn twins. Also the Omagh bomb resulted in more than 250 people being injured, many of them seriously. More over, the victims were going about their lawful business on a Saturday afternoon.
There were two public inquiries in to Bloody Sunday
There has yet to be a public inquiry into the Omagh bombing atrocity. Where is the justice in this imbalance?
Since the Saville inquiry, the British government stated that it doesn't want to have any more lengthy and costly inquiries. We should bear in mind that nearly half the cost is recouped from the tax paid by participating lawyers. But, for what price should justice be denied?
The same government later realised that the powers of a public inquiry to demand attendance and to enforce the production of documents, is sometimes the only comprehensive tribunal to explain adequately how an incident occurred and how the subsequent investigations are followed up. Therefore, each case for an Inquiry would have to be considered on its merits.
There are clear distinctions between Bloody Sunday and the Omagh atrocity. A public inquiry into the Omagh bombing would not have to be long-drawn-out or costly. The Saville inquiry took months to look into the circumstances surrounding each death, whereas in Omagh all deaths and injuries were instantaneous from the one explosion. The number of questions to be answered in the Omagh bombing would be limited and so would the number of people qualified to answer them.
The government has authorised public inquiries into the deaths of individuals in separate incidents, for example, the Billy Wright inquiry, the Hamill inquiry and the Rosemary Nelson inquiry. As we know, there were 31 fatalities in the Omagh bombing and there has as yet been no public inquiry into it. Furthermore, there are matters of public interest to be investigated. The bomb was placed in Omagh only months after the signing of the Belfast Agreement. Was the government lax in reducing the number of security patrols so soon after the agreement so as not to upset the political atmosphere of apparent peace? Did the people of Omagh pay the price for the government's negligence? What information did the government listening post, GCHQ detect from the mobile phone traffic of the terrorists? How was this information passed on to the police and how did they deal with it? Why did the 'threat book' in the Omagh police station subsequently go missing and who was responsible for its safe custody?
Only last week the Chief Constable, Matt Baggott, in referring to the dissident bomb in North Belfast, said that those who planted the dangerous device during a busy shopping area on a Sunday evening, "Have the same recklessness and mindset as those who brought about the Omagh tragedy."
We need to know that proper lessons have been learnt and that there are better preventative measures and follow-up proredures in the event of any future major incident.
The case for a public inquiry into the Omagh bombing would appear to be obvious, or. as they would say in the USA, a 'no brainer'. For the last few months the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. Owen Paterson. has had this matter under review and should soon he giving his decision as to a public inquiry, which he can authorise under his powers in the Public Inquiry Act 2005.
Justice delayed is justice denied. The philosopher Edmund Burke is quoted as saying, "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." The Omagh bombing was the worst incident in the recent Northern Ireland 'Troubles' and the victims' relatives should receive the public inquiry they rightly deserve.
Nell C Oliver LLB
Newtownards
Co Down
An anniversary can be good or bad, glad or sad, according to the nature of the occasion or event Some commemorations receive more media coverage than others.
The murders on 30 January 1972 'Bloody Sunday' and its aftermath receive almost universal recall. The Omagh bomb incident of August 15 1998 does not attract quite the same amount of interest or attention. On 'Bloody Sunday 14 people were killed whilst taking part in an illegal march and demonstration. In Omagh, more than twice as many people were killed :31 fatalities including unborn twins. Also the Omagh bomb resulted in more than 250 people being injured, many of them seriously. More over, the victims were going about their lawful business on a Saturday afternoon.
There were two public inquiries in to Bloody Sunday
There has yet to be a public inquiry into the Omagh bombing atrocity. Where is the justice in this imbalance?
Since the Saville inquiry, the British government stated that it doesn't want to have any more lengthy and costly inquiries. We should bear in mind that nearly half the cost is recouped from the tax paid by participating lawyers. But, for what price should justice be denied?
The same government later realised that the powers of a public inquiry to demand attendance and to enforce the production of documents, is sometimes the only comprehensive tribunal to explain adequately how an incident occurred and how the subsequent investigations are followed up. Therefore, each case for an Inquiry would have to be considered on its merits.
There are clear distinctions between Bloody Sunday and the Omagh atrocity. A public inquiry into the Omagh bombing would not have to be long-drawn-out or costly. The Saville inquiry took months to look into the circumstances surrounding each death, whereas in Omagh all deaths and injuries were instantaneous from the one explosion. The number of questions to be answered in the Omagh bombing would be limited and so would the number of people qualified to answer them.
The government has authorised public inquiries into the deaths of individuals in separate incidents, for example, the Billy Wright inquiry, the Hamill inquiry and the Rosemary Nelson inquiry. As we know, there were 31 fatalities in the Omagh bombing and there has as yet been no public inquiry into it. Furthermore, there are matters of public interest to be investigated. The bomb was placed in Omagh only months after the signing of the Belfast Agreement. Was the government lax in reducing the number of security patrols so soon after the agreement so as not to upset the political atmosphere of apparent peace? Did the people of Omagh pay the price for the government's negligence? What information did the government listening post, GCHQ detect from the mobile phone traffic of the terrorists? How was this information passed on to the police and how did they deal with it? Why did the 'threat book' in the Omagh police station subsequently go missing and who was responsible for its safe custody?
Only last week the Chief Constable, Matt Baggott, in referring to the dissident bomb in North Belfast, said that those who planted the dangerous device during a busy shopping area on a Sunday evening, "Have the same recklessness and mindset as those who brought about the Omagh tragedy."
We need to know that proper lessons have been learnt and that there are better preventative measures and follow-up proredures in the event of any future major incident.
The case for a public inquiry into the Omagh bombing would appear to be obvious, or. as they would say in the USA, a 'no brainer'. For the last few months the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. Owen Paterson. has had this matter under review and should soon he giving his decision as to a public inquiry, which he can authorise under his powers in the Public Inquiry Act 2005.
Justice delayed is justice denied. The philosopher Edmund Burke is quoted as saying, "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." The Omagh bombing was the worst incident in the recent Northern Ireland 'Troubles' and the victims' relatives should receive the public inquiry they rightly deserve.
Nell C Oliver LLB
Newtownards
Co Down
Further Information
Publisher: ULSTER HERALD
Ref: UH/2021
Published Date: 03-Feb-11
Related Images
There have been no images archived for this article.