The public inquiry into the Omagh bombing gets underway in earnest today. Over the next four weeks, relatives of those killed in one of the worst atrocities of the Troubles will have the opportunity to publicly commemorate their loved ones. The inquiry will also hear from those injured in or directly affected by the 1998 atrocity.
This will be difficult and painful for all those caught up in a heinous attack which killed 29 people and unborn twins. Justice has proved elusive over the years and the inquiry is the latest attempt to discover the truth of what happened, in particular whether the bombing could have been prevented by “UK state authorities”.
However, it is not clear just how public the public inquiry will be in its investigation and in the publication of its findings. Its terms of reference allow it to hold closed sessions, “as the inquiry chairman shall judge appropriate”.
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This suggests that some evidence may be given in secret, which means that the chair, Lord Turnbull, can decide what the public will hear and what the inquiry’s published report will contain.
The reason behind the possible need for open and closed sessions is “the sensitive nature of the material” which may be given in evidence.
Read more: ‘Invaluable’ personal statements will help form direction of Omagh Bombing Inquiry, chair says
So who will decide which evidence is sensitive and which is not? Presumably that decision will rest with the “UK state authorities”, who will advise the chair as they think appropriate. Since these are the same authorities which are being investigated by the inquiry, there would appear to be a conflict of interest here.
In such a conflict, truth tends to be the first casualty.
The inquiry’s terms of reference identify allegations that British intelligence chiefs did not share information with police about earlier dissident bombings that would have enabled them to disrupt the activities of the Omagh bombers.
The inquiry will also investigate allegations that information from a security force agent was not passed to the police and it will raise questions as to just how much the government knew in advance about plans for the bombing.
In view of those allegations, a full and open public inquiry should ask if the bombing could have been prevented and if so, inquire why it was not. If the explanation lies in incompetence, mistakes, oversight, or genuine human failure, then the inquiry can publish that.
If, however, the explanation lies elsewhere, possibly in the machinations of British intelligence, we are unlikely to be told.
The relatives of the Omagh bomb victims have waited too long for the truth about what happened to their loved ones on that August day. They now face another wait to see how much of that truth will be revealed.
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