Spare us the opinions — let’s have the facts
Last week Hugh Orde said the IRA carried out the Belfast bank heist. But that was mere opinion. We have seen no evidence for this claim, yet the Taoiseach and the British prime minister have said how disappointed they are.
This saddens me as it shows that at the highest level of government hearsay and opinion have overridden the need for evidence, the burden of proof and innocence till proven guilty.
If the finger was pointed at a legitimate organisation or individual, without anything to back up these claims, Hugh Orde would already be gathering a legal team around him in defence of a slander suit. He is under enormous pressure to find the perpetrators of this robbery. Mr Orde also said that all branches of the investigation were now looking only at the IRA. Shouldn’t at least one branch be looking into other possibilities?
What matters most to me is not who did it, but why are the two governments and the media accepting opinion instead of demanding fact?
It makes no difference to me if its shown eventually to have been an IRA job. I will be happy when we simply accept nothing less than fact.
Treasa Collins
232 Waterside Apartments
Charlotte Quay Dock
Ringsend Road
Dublin 4
