Call for public inquiry into La Mon bombing
A human rights group today (Thursday) demanded a public inquiry into a devastating firebomb attack 42 years ago.in County Down
The La Mon House Hotel and Restaurant atrocity was one of the worst incidents in the Troubles.
Twelve people were killed and 30 others injured after the IRA left a large incendiary device outside one of the restaurant’s windows.
Now, Ulster Human Rights Watch is calling for a Public Inquiry.
In 2014, the then Secretary of State rejected calls for a Public Inquiry on grounds of insufficient evidence.
The group said that since then, new information about the bomb team had come to light, which it said justified a fresh demand for a Public Inquiry.
Ulster Human Rights Watch Advocacy Manager, Axel Schmidt, said: “This was an appalling crime and even thought it happened forty-two years ago, we should never give up our search for truth and justice.
“We are aware of the existence of official documents that identify some of the other PIRA terrorists involved in the incendiary attack.
“We have now submitted a request to the Secretary of State for a Public Inquiry which would give survivors and relatives some closure. The request is made on behalf of fifteen victims of La Mon who live in Canada, England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
“This is one case that won’t go away and we believe there is sufficient new material now available to warrant such an inquiry.”
UHRW said the purpose of the inquiry would be to find out the identities of all IRA terrorists involved in ordering, planning and executing the bombing and provide a full account of their involvement.
The UHRW Submission states: “This Public Inquiry would require full access to all documentation and relevant exhibits of the original criminal investigation as well as to all original intelligence material and government papers gathered by the Security Service, the Ministry of Defence, the Home Office or the Northern Ireland Office, in relation to the attack.”