by Ronan McSherry

Fears expressed by many relatives of the Omagh bomb victims that the monument to their loved ones may become the target of vandals appear to be well founded following an attack on the memorial at the weekend. The attack has been strongly condemned by local representatives across the political divide.

While there have been conflicting reports whether it was eggs or tomato sauce was smeared on the glass plinth, a spokesperson for Omagh District council has confirmed that 'debris was thrown at the memorial monument on Market Street.'

action

She said, "Immediate action was taken by Council staff to remove the debris and clean the glass pillar and ascertain that no damage was caused to the monument. The matter has been reported to the PSNI."

The monument was unveiled two weeks ago to coincide with the tenth anniversary of the Real IRA atrocity that claimed the lives of 31 people on August 15, 1998.

Council chairman Martin McColgan of Sinn Féin said that there should be no interference with the monument and called for young people to be respectful of those who died.

"Even though it may have been kids that did this there needs to be respect shown for the monument. I heard there may have been tomato sauce smeared on it by a child. While it was wrong it has been cleaned up. People should leave it alone. It is there to mark the tragic event that happened and people should have some respect. Throwing eggs or sauce or debris at it is mindless. This is something that marks what happened in this town. The town is going to move on but we have to remember what happened in the past and be respectful of those who died. These people need to have a bit of sense and show respect."

Echoing these sentiments Council vice-chair Jo Deehan called on those responsible to think about the significance of the memorial and come to realise they are 'offending and hurting a lot of people.'

The SDLP councillor added, "Like any monument or piece of art work it can always be a target for vandals. It is obviously something that will need to be monitored and meanwhile I would be asking the PSNI to be to be vigilant in respect of the memorial and the memorial garden. I would appeal to all people out there to respect the monument and the memorial garden reflecting on what it means and symbolises and to treat it with the respect that it deserves.

On hearing of the malicious attack on the monument UUP councillor Ross Hussey said that his reaction 'could not be put in print.'

morons

He said, "It shows what sort of morons they are. I don't object to anyone having fun but this is a memorial to people who lost their lives in a terror attack and I think some respect should have been shown by those who were at it. It is moronic and certainly I would call for this to stop."

A PSNI spokesman said they are investigating the incident and will be trying to establish if there is any CCTV footage that could help identify those responsible. They have also appealed to the public for any information about the attack.