Statement by TUV MLA Jim Allister:
“This Saturday is the 22nd anniversary of the Omagh bombing. 29 innocent civilians and two unborn babies were blasted out into eternity in what was the single greatest loss of life caused by terrorists ever in Northern Ireland. The victims – Roman Catholic and Protestant – ranged in age from unborn children and 1 year olds to pensioners.
“In any other part of the world such an atrocity would be etched on the memory of the population and the pledges to bring those responsible to justice would be something the powers that be would be reminded of regularly. The fact that Northern Ireland suffered so much from terrorism and that so many have got away with murder should not, however, blind us to the fact that 22 years on there remains a deep sense of injustice that no one has ever served a day in jail for the lives stolen that day in Omagh.
“The blood of the innocents of Omagh still cries for justice. It is nothing short of scandalous that those cries fall on deaf ears and that there is neither the will nor the desire to do anything about it. Time and again the families of those who had their loved ones stolen from them have been failed. In 2013 the Secretary of State decided that a public inquiry should not be held into the bombing and while the families have successfully brought a civil action against two men responsible for the massacre those found liable in a civil court continue to walk around as free men.
“This outrageous lack of basic justice is a dreadful stain on Northern Ireland yet few seem exercised about it. It appears that while there is one rule for those cases championed by Republicans there is quite another for the victims of their terrorism.
“That should shame everyone in the political, policing and judicial establishment of our Province.”