Monumental Mistake - Victims fear Omagh stone will disappear |
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| Relatives of victims of the Omagh bombing fear a commemorative plinth — due to bo removed from the town's memorial garden — may never be displayed in public again. Omagh District Council has written to the Omagh Support and Self-Help
Group asking families to remove any personal items or mementoes
from the plinth by next weekend. The memorial garden is being closed to enable the site to be developed. But relatives' spokesman Michael Gallagher, whose son Aiden was killed in the atrocity, fears the stone may never be seen again because its inscription blames republicans for the mass-murder. The council's chief executive, Daniel McSorley, said the stone will be removed, transported and stored at a "secure council facility". In his letter, Mr McSorley said the nature and location "of
any narrative for the Omagh memorial is currently being considered
by the independent facilitation team who,! understand, are still
engaging in meetings". The inscription on the Omagh Memorial Stone reads - 15th August 1198 To honour and remember BY A DISSIDENT TO HONOUR & REMEMBER "Republican Councillors object to the words 'Republican Terrorist' on the above image of the Omagh Memorial as this will show to future generations that Sinn Fein/IRA common criminals where and are nothing but common criminals and terrorist insurgents. These republican councillors and others wish to re-write the past heinous deeds of Sinn Fein/IRA and show these murderous Sinn Fein/IRA common criminals in a light which is not befitting them in any shape nor form. Once a terrorist always a terrorist there can be no distinction. Sinn Fein/IRA are all that is evil in the World and re-writing or removing this memorial stone will not erase Sinn Fein/IRA common criminals murderous deeds." - Shame on those who wish to re-write our past. But Mr Gallagher said he believed the Sinn Fein-controlled council wants to banish the inscription on the existing stone because it blames republicans. The removal of the stone was raised at an international conference attended by Mr Gallagher in Madrid last week. The issue was also highlighted in the Spanish Press. Said Mr Gallagher: "We raised this with the council earlier in the month and we've now received an official letter saying the stone will be removed to a council facility rather than left with us to safely store. "We expect this means that it will never be seen again once it is removed next weekend.” "We feel that the council and a small number of people in Omagh want to rewrite history because this atrocity embarrasses them, but we will continue to raise the issue around wording on a memorial both nationally and internationally." 27th January 2008 Sunday Life
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