Sir, - Back in the late 1960s I played a prominent role in founding the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association and I was in the leading rank during the early civil rights marches. One of the principal aims of NICRA was the abolishment of the Northern Ireland Special Powers Acts, among which was internment without trial.
With many others I resigned from NICRA in March 1969 because of the direction in which that organisation was then heading, but in 1971, when internment was reactivated in Northern Ireland, I was active as an individual in opposing it; my recollection of that awful week was in having but 17 hours' sleep, what with addressing street protests and attempting to alleviate the distress caused by the upsurge in violence. Since then, my belief in civil liberties, though at times shaken by recurring political violence, has remained steady. What occurred at Omagh leads to a rethink.
I was on holiday in Dublin when news came of the butchery and my immediate reactions were of horror and a damnation to all those associated with such a deed. Returning home, those feelings have eased - a little - to be replaced with resignation to the fact that if the normal processes of law are inadequate to deal with the quasi-political fanatics in our society, then stronger methods have to be adopted to curb them.
The safeguarding of human life and the prevention of unnecessary suffering to all people are the most basic rights of all, and those who would deprive us of either have to face the consequences. If internment, with obvious legal protections, has again to be brought into play, this is one individual who will not raise a voice in opposition. It goes against every fibre in my being to state that, as the beliefs of a lifetime are being cast aside. But there must be no repetitions of Omagh and the so many brutal carnages of the past 30-odd years. The majority of the people on this island, on both sides of the Border, have voted for peace and their democratic wish has to be obeyed.
Finally, may I express my sorrow, and the sorrow of everyone with whom I have spoken over the past sad few days, to the people of Omagh and Buncrana and elsewhere who have suffered so grievously. - Yours, etc.,
Fred Heatley,
Riverdale Park West,
Belfast 11.