The President of the Irish Human Rights Commission and his counterpart in the North have called for a top judge to examine the need for a cross-Border public inquiry into the Omagh bombing
Dr Maurice Manning and Professor Monica McWilliams, chief commissioner of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission, have today urged the Irish and British governments to assess whether a public inquiry is needed.
Dr Maurice Manning
They said the review should be along the lines of that carried out by retired Canadian Judge Peter Cory, who examined allegations of state collusion in four-high profile murders and recommended public inquiries.
Prof McWilliams and Dr Manning specifically proposed a serving or retired judge of international standing should examine all available material about the bombing in which 29 people were killed and hundreds more injured.
In a statement, they said: "We further recommend that the purpose of such a review will be to determine whether it is appropriate to institute a North-South inquiry into the atrocity."
Dr Manning said: "We certainly do not want to do anything that would prejudice any future trials or legal action. But we believe there is enough new material that has emerged which should help the person appointed to decide whether or not the truth about Omagh will be found through a public inquiry."
Families of the victims have been calling for such a cross-Border inquiry into the 1998 bombing for years.
The move by the two human rights chiefs came the day after the end of the 56-day trial of Sean Hoey, the south Armagh electrician charged with the Omagh bombing and a series of other attacks.
The judge involved in the non-jury trial is expected to return his verdicts on a total of 56 charges within two months.
In April a civil action by the Omagh families against five men they believe to be responsible for the bombing is due to begin in the High Court in Belfast.