conspiracy, directing terrorism, Brits paying for Omagh case

national | rights, freedoms and repression | news report

Friday August 08, 2003 19:41

by petrushka og

colm murphy got done for: was it conspiracy? mc kevitt is now in for directing terrorism. and now the british have found the funds to bring a case on behalf of the families of the victims of omagh. this is a classic frame up shake down by the forces of opression-same thing happened in new york with the panther 21. (from the black panther party) will the real republicans please stand up?

Government cash boost for Omagh families' case

Press Association
Friday August 8, 2003

The government is to provide the families of people killed and injured in the Omagh bombing with £800,000 to meet the cost of taking those accused of the attack to court.
The Northern Ireland secretary, Paul Murphy, today confirmed that the government has found a way to help relatives raise the £1.5m needed for a civil action.

"While I recognise the legal constraints and complexities, I have always believed that this is an exceptional case, and the vast majority of people in Northern Ireland and beyond want to see the families bring it to court. "The magnificent scale of the financial donations from the public to date supports that view.

"I have discussed the families' concerns with the Lord Chancellor, Lord Falconer, and he has found a way to give the families the money they need to fight their case," Mr Murphy said.

The announcement came just 24 hours after Real IRA terror boss Michael McKevitt began a 20-year sentence in Portlaoise Prison, in the Irish Republic, following his conviction for directing terrorism.

The Omagh bombing, which happened in August 1998, killed 29 people, including a woman who was pregnant with twins. Hundreds were also injured in the Real IRA car blast, which devastated the town centre.

It was the single biggest loss of life in the history of Northern Ireland, and the victims included people from the Irish Republic and Spain, as well as the province.

In January 2002, father-of-four Colm Murphy became the only person to be convicted of plotting the Omagh bomb. Dublin's special criminal court sentenced the Dundalk-based builder and publican to 14 years in jail.

Last summer, solicitors acting on behalf of the Omagh Victims' Civil Action Group served writs on five people suspected of involvement in the bombing, seeking £10m in damages.

The legal documents were given to McKevitt, Liam Campbell and Murphy in Portlaoise Jail. Solicitor Jason McCue visited the border town of Dundalk, in the Irish Republic, last July to serve writs on two other people, Seamus Daly and Seamus McKenna.

Neither of the accused was present, and the writs were either handed to relatives or posted through the door.

Stanley McCombe, whose wife Anne was killed in the bombing, revealed two days ago that the families were £800,000 short of meeting the £1.5m bill.

In February, Sinn Fein MPs Gerry Adams, Martin McGuinness and Pat Doherty were also subpoenaed by the families to appear in court during the civil action, along with leading Belfast republicans Brian Gillen and Brian Keenan.

Mr Murphy also confirmed he had asked the Law Society of Northern Ireland to review its decision to grant legal aid to the defendants in the civil case.

"The public will not easily understand why apparently rich men who are convicted terrorists should have their legal fees subsidised by the taxpayer," Mr Murphy said.

The Northern Ireland Secretary said that he had also received an "encouraging" briefing about the police investigation into Omagh from Police Service of Northern Ireland assistant chief constable Sam Kincaid.

"The investigation is very active, with the largest team of detectives working on any single case in Northern Ireland," Mr Murphy said.

"They are working with all their energy towards a criminal prosecution."

Michael Gallagher, whose 21-year-old son Aidan was killed in the atrocity, said that the government's move would help to speed up the process of taking those responsible to court.

"It is fantastic, unbelievable news. I think it will go a long way towards giving the families justice," he said. Mr Gallagher called on the Irish government to make a similar gesture: "We want the Dublin government to make the transcripts of the McKevitt trial available to our lawyers," he said.

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Comments (15 of 15)

Comparing Black panthers to Omagh bomber?

by Seáinín

Sat Aug 09, 2003 01:56

Another ludicrous notion, this is why I come here - I'm constantly amazed at the malformed etiolated notions of our iscontented youth.

Fair play to you Shauneen !

by mr. aggro

Sat Aug 09, 2003 14:55

Good to see someone shining a spotlight on the malformed and etiolated notions of our "iscontented" (sic.) youth.

But surely one should point the finger of blame at those responsible.

After all our "iscontented" youth are the product of the society in which they have been formed.

And if their notions are malformed and etiolated as you allege can it be that they alone are to blame ?

Is it not more probable that those charged with the upbringing and education of said "iscontented" youth have failed in *their* duties ?

Why stop at pointing out the symptoms ... are you too faint-hearted to trace these back to the root cause .....

Seanin, my sweet:

by Phuq Hedd

Sat Aug 09, 2003 18:23

"aetiolated" is how the Queen would spell it and if it's good enough for her then it's good enough for you. You're giving in to a modern politically correct fad for simplifying spellings so that any idiot can post comments on the internet.

Thanks Mr Aggro

Sat Aug 09, 2003 22:05

I can always rely on you. I've a high IQ so my brain sometimes races ahead of my hands.

Interesting that Phuq Hedd defers to "the Queen" (presumably of the UK & NI) in matters of spelling. Shows that the colonial attitude is alive and well in Dublin.

Phuq Hedd daahling

Sun Aug 10, 2003 01:36

Sorry to butt in but you should realise that Shauneen has succumbed to (in his eyes) the ultra-hip modern neo-colonial attitude of kow-towing to the Yanqui hegemon of today's New World Ordure rather than the has-been and now rather toothless British lion.

That is why he favours the New World orthography over ye Olde Worlde one and King George over Queen Elizabeth ... and why he dismisses your attempts to force him into an Oxford English straitjacket ....

Unfortunately his understanding of the terms "colonialism" and "imperialism" have not advanced beyond the Land Wars of 19th century Ireland .... he's a bit parochial ... but they're often like that down in Mayo ......

as serious as this will be!

by iosaf

Sun Aug 10, 2003 15:22

Websters is the official scrabble dictionary now.
no "new world ordure" there.
:-)
Jayzuz you're all best friends behind it all.

dissenting irish republicans under fire

by philomena

Mon Aug 11, 2003 15:37

McKevitt is not charged with being the Omagh bomber-he is charged with 'directing terrorism'. It is improtant to note that this is a made up charge-in other words a way to get someone when you dont have proof of another crime. (ie moving the goal posts to suit) The analysis of the panter 21 case is valid insofar that people are being censored and/or killed for their dissenting political viewpoints.

That is fucking Bollox.

Mon Aug 11, 2003 18:15

total fucking bollox. since when were there "goalposts" in the fucking armed struggle tradition of Irish Republicanism?
It was supposed to be a fucking war.
An attritious bloody murder filled war, that left more than one generation of Irish people completely fucked up. there weren't goalposts.
It's not a fucking game. McKevitt is in jail and will stay there as part of Ireland's struggle where he shall become a symbol more resplendent than Ruairi o Bhradaigh of die-hard not an inch out of every field of fucking Armagh Republicanism?

or because he was one of the murdering scumbags who swore an oath on a flag to protect my interests and those of future generations of Irish people despite we the Irish people saying quite clearly on both sides of the border that we wanted an end and clear and unequivocal end to the armed struggle.
Oh I suppose it was us who moved the fucking goalposts.

OK I shall move the fucking goalposts again.

Mc Kevitt is a
TRAITOR.
to the republic and to the Irish people.
And what is worse is that his fucking name and the murder he assisted ocupy the first chapter of post "peace process" Irish history.
Why?
Because he couldn't stop.
FUCK YOU with your "real republicans stand up" it's total fucking bollox and an insult to all who sincerely volunteered and worked for and with the Irish Republican movement througout the last century.
FUCK YOU for turning Omagh into an Irish version of September 11, of involving the FBI/CIA/NSA in Irish judicial matters. AND THAT IS WHY YOU ARE FUCKING TRAITORS:
you moved the goalposts to washington.
SCUM:

The heat must be getting to iosaf

by mr. soleil

Mon Aug 11, 2003 22:20

If you object to "extra-parliamentary" methods then perhaps you should stick to "parliamentary language" yourself ....

It might make your arguments more persuasive ...

PS: What about the Dublin/Monaghan bombings ... the perpetrators are still on the loose ...

Well said Iosaf

Tue Aug 12, 2003 01:07

These cockraoches make me mad as hell too. I don't have a problem with Irlande du Sud co-operating with our American friends in the War on Terror. Terrorism is gone global, the response must be global as well. We have nothing to fear from the English speaking world.

for a united socialist ireland

by revolunary worker - communist party www.plp.org

Tue Aug 12, 2003 02:23

hey seainin as an irish american and communist that fought along with the black panthers and the revoluntionary communist party fuck off you nazis pig you say you dont mind the cia working with the british intellagence as some one who has seen first hand their brutal oppresion you like england so much get the fuck out of ireland and let the rest of us continue the struggle for a united socialist republic it contunes to be sickening to listen to so many whinning right wing nazis but your probably a pathic orangman i wish you son of a bitches would get off indymedia and whine on your nazis website all power to the international revolunary working class free ireland from british oppresion by any means necessary as malcom x said

oh yes it's as hot here in Barcelona as on Dollymount strand.

by mr O'as if

Tue Aug 12, 2003 21:08

brings out the bad langauge in any normally restrained fucking anarko-pacifist thinker cunt.
%-)
But like I noticed that Mr Mc Kevitt was acribed enough "clout" to lead a wellarmed section of the former arsenal of Oglaigh na hEirinn and without proper leave or consent after a total cessation declared by said Oglaigh na hEirinn known in English for the wee clarification heads as the Irish Republican Army, Mr Mc Kevitt was accused of directing terrorism on evidence furnished by the FBI/NSA/CIA (who incidently know what we had for breakfast [well me in any case]).
Now if Mr Mc Kevitt could hold such a position of one would think "relative" influence, that he be it is aclaimed in a position to encourage "lilly whites" (those with no criminal convictions or proven links to Irish Republicanism) to military action, then he must have been privvy to the normal working of Oglaigh na hEirinn at some stage no?
And as such either he didn't go down.
when others did.
when others hid under cars and saw their brother's killed. (Adams)
when others admitted proudly to have been OIC of Derry IRA operations (McGuinness)
Mc Kevitt didn't go down during the "war".
And the innocent dead of Omagh did go down.
six foot down.

So I call him a traitor.
Because such is as I see him.
And I'm sure many others.

precedent setting.

by nula

Wed Aug 13, 2003 17:09

directing terrorism? jesus sake-any one of us with a progressive political analysis could be 'charged' with this. saying that capitalism is exploitation, or that english forces should not be occupying northeast ireland is dissent. and dissent is clearly on trial.

BRITTISH GOV PAY FOR INQUIRY INTO OMAGH ! YET WONT ADMIT THIER INVOLVEMENT IN THE ATROCITY

by EDGAR

Thu Aug 14, 2003 16:54

WHO REALLY BOMBED OMAGH IS THE QUESTION ??

so now that we have achieved the neccesary distance from the imprisoned

by edgar's brother edmund - king lear appreciation soc.

Sun Aug 17, 2003 22:57

let us ask
"who bombed Omagh?"
and
"Is dissent on trial?"

Because like or not, no-one is going to get very far asking these questions if they support Mc K.
{'tis generally how things go...}

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conspiracy, directing terrorism, Brits paying for Omagh case

Comments (15 of 15)