The Lessons of Omagh
I have spent the day in Mid Ulster, tracking down the Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness for an interview for tomorrow's Inside Politics.
Asking questions about the Omagh house fire is difficult, given the appalling nature of what happened and the fact that a murder investigation is still underway. But at the same time after the dark week we have experienced the tragedy seems impossible to ignore. So apart from talking to the Deputy First Minister about his visit to the scene, I asked whether, once the PSNI investigation is complete, a wider inquiry should be held. He tells me that lessons will have to be learned by various branches of the government.
The rest of the interview concerns the Real IRA's attacks on police officers and the Paul Quinn murder.
As usual you can hear the programme at 12.45 on 91Èȱ¬ Radio Ulster.
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Mark
QUESTION MARK [?] OVER PAUL QUINN’S MURDER
Martin McGuinness’s comments on the Paul Quinn Murder were as predictable as they were disingenuous. He knows, as do the dogs in St Patrick’s Park, Cullyhanna, that any act of murder/criminality that occurs in South Armagh/North Louth always carries the imprimatur of the South Armagh Brigade of PIRA. Moreover, he was hardly being consistent in claiming not to know who perpetrated the savagery visited on the Victim while at the same time exculpating the IRA.
Mind you, McGuinness has no need to worry that any of his IRA colleagues will ever be charged with killing Paul Quinn because we have a police service that is guided by political expediency rather than the need to apply the law even-handedly. Who could fail to note that the efforts of the PSNI to find Paul Quinn’s killers are being driven by inertia, as they were in the case of Robert McCartney?
All the while, the various Loyalist and Republican Gangs are being allowed to morph into freshly laundered ‘respectable’ Mafiosi who will act as warlords in their own fiefdoms in places like South Armagh and in the ghetto areas. The bottom line for the DUP and Sinn Fein is that as long as the residents of BT9 and the North Down Gold Coast are safe and sound the Assembly’s existence is reasonably secure.
Amid this background, what are the Politicians doing to get Justice for Paul Quinn? What? Paul who???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
Susie
Carryduff
Is Slab not freelance now?
Paul Quinn was my best friend and we all no in Cullyhanna village who Blugened him to Death... Unfortunalty We the residents of Cullyhanna live in an era were the PSNI are being controlled by politicions- which will result in them protecting Pauls murders because if it evere got out that Paul was murdererded by the IRA these politicions may loose there big jobs in stormont... For years the IRA ruled south Armagh and I like many supported the movement 100 percent... But when they kill one of their own people then it becomes a different story... Well respected republicians like Micheal Mc Verry, Brendan Burns and Brendan must be turning in there grave... Also i would like to point out thay for some reason Sinn Fein the party i supported all my life for some reason are trying to distance them selves form the Youth... This is strange because the youth is our future and this tactic can only damage Sinn Fein in the long run... Sinn Fein survival depends on a change of leadership, they must stop using dead Volunteers for there own propaganda means... I was a republician all my life and i today still see myself as being a republician but i will never vote Sinn Fein again unless there is drastic changes within the party... The people who stand up for these murders cannot classify themselves as through republicians they are instead vicious murdering scumbags and i hope the saying is through WHAT COMES AROUND GOES AROUND...
RIP my dear friend Paul xx