President Chandrika Kumaratunga has appointed the commander of the army, Lieutenant General Rohan Daluwatte, as General Officer Commanding the Joint Operations Command affective August 3, defence ministry sources said.

One of the first headaches which Lt. Gen. Dakluwatte will have to cure, is how to stop the LTTE from hijacking merchant ships carrying merchandise to Jaffna, and stealing not only the cargo, but also the ships themselves.

Last week’s fiasco over the ``MV Princess Kash,’’ is the third time that the Tigers have hijacked a ship and got away with it.

The problem that the security forces face is that it is difficult to figure out whether a ship has been hijacked, until it actually approaches the LTTE held stetch of coast at Mullaittivu. Until then, they cannot fire on the vessel, since it would cause severe problems if the navy or air force were to attck a normal merchant ship.

The standard practice, in any country, when a ship or plane is sighted in an unuaul position or behaving in a strange manner, is to challenge it by radio on internationally accepted channels.

But no ship’s captain can tell the world that he has been hijacked, when he has a Tiger holding a gun to his head. So ship masters can only say over the radio what the LTTE wants them to say, which is only enough to stall for time that the hijackers want.

The government has a standing order that merchant ships should stay fifty miles away from the beach. But no matter how far from the coast the merchant ships go, it only takes a single LTTE boat a couple of hours to speed out to the sea lane in the darkness, unseen by the patrolling warships of the Sri Lanka Navy and the Indian Navy.

The helpless ship is then hijacked, and in the darkness, it is brought to Mullaittivu.

If it is sighted and challenged on the way by gunboats, the Tigers can easily make the captain say that he is having engine problems, or his hull has sprung a leak, etc, and that he is getting closer to the shore just in case he has to abandon ship, for the safety of the crew, or some such story.

Sailors throughout the world have a time honoured tradition of helping a ship in distress, and a gunboat captian who mistakenly fires on a ship which is really in distress would be committed a heinous crime.

The Tigers have proven to be extremely crafty, and when a hijacked ship is spotted by the armed forces, they usually obey naval orders and move back out to sea. The gunboat would then move on with its patrol, ansd the Tigers would wait a while and bring the ship in again.

It is only when the ship is definitely known to be heading towards Mullaittivu that the armed forces would fire on it. Even then, the laws of the sea dictate that warning shots be fired across the ship’s bows, and other measures be taken before a ship is actually sunk.

But it takes a long time for the navy’s gunboats to sink a steel hulled ship. Our gunboats were meant to chase down and sink small boats, not 6,000 ton merchant ships. The heaviest gun in the navy is the 37 milimeter gun, whose shells need to hit hundreds of times before a ship will sink.

Even this can take hours since the shells would start a fire on the deck, or destroy the superstructutre, which would not sink the ship. A ship’s engine room is deep within the hull.

This has been demonstrated time and time again, when Sri Lankan navy gunboats have tried to sink LTTE arms ships. In the two times that this has happened, it took several hours of gunfitre to sink the vessels.

If the ship reaches the safety of Mullaittivu dyuring this time, it is extremely difficult for the gunboats to move in for the kill. They would come under heavy fire from LTTE artillery and mortars on shore. A single hit from an artillery shell would destroy any of the navy’s warships.

In addition, the Sea Tigers usually have a large fleet of small boats ready to greet the gunboats with machine gun and shell fire.

Our readwers will recall what happened in August of 1995, when the LTTE hijavcked a ferry carrying 120 civilians to Jaffna, anchored it off Mullaittivu, and then lured navy gunboats to their destruction. Two Dvora fast attack craft were sunk there, and 18 sailors killed.

Incidentally, that ship is still in the hands of the Tigers, although the peple were released.

Another problem which complicates matters is that Sri Lanka’s government and our local shipping lines do not have enough ships to supply food and other items to the 600,000 people in Jaffna. Thus, most of the ships are foreign owned, and therefore have foreign crews.

Sri Lankans have long regarded foreigners as more valuable than locals, and this makes things more difficult.

The easiest way to destroy a ship is for the air force to bomb it. But this too is not quite as easy as one would expect, since the Tigers may carry missiles with them when they board the ship.

This is what happened to the unfortunate Princess Kash. Carrying a cargo of motorcycles, bicycles, motor spares and other items, it sailed from Colombo on Tuesday.

The fact that it was sighted off Mullaittivu at 10 p.m. on Thursday means that it did not have enough time to stop anywhere and load or unload items.

When it was sighted by the navy and challnged, it moved away, back out to sea, as though it had strayed too close to the beach by mistake, as many ships do every day.

But it then moved back towards Mullaittivu, unseen by the gunboats in the darkness.

Only the next morning, at eight o’clock, was it sighted anchotred off Mullaittivu.

This is where things went wrong.

Gunboats tried to move in and were fired upon from both the ship and the shore, and had to withdraw.

Planes were fired at with several missiles and couldn’t get close for a long time.

Menawhile, LTTE boats streamed between the ship and the shore, only a few hundred yards away, carrying the cargo to land.

By the time the air force’s Israeli built Kfir jets from Katunayake finally managed to get close enough and bomb accurately, it was 2 p.m. The ship sank in the afternoon.

It can be expected that much of the cargo had been unloaded and is in the hands of the Tigers.

A Cabinet Minister publicly said that the ship’s crew is suspected of having been working for the LTTE, which is the reason the armed forces couldn’t stop the hijacking. He also said that the ship had surreptitiously changed its name.

This is rubbish.

All shipping firms which carry cargo to the north are selected through a tough tender process by the Ministry of Shipping. One has to be registered with both the Shipping Ministry and the Ministry of Defence to even apply. Such registtration requires that the complete history of the ship be provided, and details of captian and crew. If there had been any hanky panky, then Defence Ministry officials would be guilty of either negligence or corruption.

Ships do change their names often, but all these details should have been with the Defence Ministry and the Shipping Ministry.

This partuicular shipping firm has been probably the unluckiest operating in the north, having lost three ships to the Tigers.

The first was the ``MV Ocean Trader,’’ which was sunk while anchotred off the army camp in Vettilaikerni in 1994. The second was the ferry ``Misson,’’ which was hijacked off Mannar in 1996. Some of the crew are still in LTTE custody.

If there are any suspicions regarding any shipping firm, the CID and NIB shopuld investigate and the owners can be charged in court, since they maintain offices in Colombo.

What is vclear is that the armed forces don’t have the capability to prevent ships from being hijacked. Neither can they prevent them from reaching Mullaittivu. Once there, it is difficult to sink such a ship.

The LTTE are well aware of all these facts, so they will definitely try this taxctic again. After all, piracy on the high seas has been a lucrative business since man first went to sea.

It is up to the new JOC to figure out what can be done and lay down a specific plan. Otherwise, every ship which sails to the north does so at great peril.

The year-long Fiftieth Anniversary celebrations of India's independence reached a memorable conclusion last week when Sri Lanka's Amaradeva and India's V.G. Jog presented a program of joint-concerts in Galle, Colombo, Kandy and Nuwara Eliya. (That Jaffna had to be excluded from the tour must serve to remind us of our own deep-seated 'troubles' which stand out starkly in this golden jubilee year.)

It was an upbeat end to a series of bilateral cultural events that commenced in 1997. Everywhere they performed, Amaradeva and Jog were most warmly applauded. I saw them 'in action' twice ' first at an elegant soiree hosted by the Indian High Commissioner, and then at the Bishop's College auditorium. And I can attest to the fact that the two Pandits (teacher and pupil), along with their brilliant 'tabla' accompanist Ustad Sabir Khan, truly enchanted their audiences on both occasions. Yet, as a musical experience, the evening at the improvised 'jalsaghar' in the diplomatic residence was palpably richer than the public concert at the Bishop's College auditorium last Friday.

This difference did not stem from the quality of playing; it had to do with the very conditions of playing. In essence a chamber form, Northern 'ragadhari' music attains its best when the performance space is small and intimate enough to function without the mediating instrumentality of sound amplification. Any electronic or mechanical 'third party' such as microphones and loudspeakers (the latter curiously known as 'buffels' in this country) weakens the life-giving nexus between performer and audience. The enhancing feedback from audience to performer gets truncated. The negative effects of this distancing become evident when the solo instrument is the delicately nuanced, soft-voiced violin, as was the case with the Jog-Amaradeva recitals.

The point is worth emphasising (although there isn't much that can be done to rectify it) that large auditoriums, proscenium arches, stage lights, and long introductory announcements do not foster closeness of contact between performer and listener. Perhaps I could be accused of taking up an elitist stance and indulging in too precious a distinction between two contexts of performance ' the theatrical and the intimate ' and making an invidious comparison. I would be the first to grant that in the contemporary world, the latter context ' the intimate music room situation ' spells a rare privilege, especially where virtuoso artists are concerned.

Guru Vishnu Govind Jog, his brilliant 'shishya' W.D. Amaradeva and Ustad Sabir Khan all belong to the authentic band of virtuosos. And they made music like true virtuosos. Pandit Jog, though in his late seventies and a bit frail, lived up to his reputation as one of the great masters of the violin in the Northern ragadhari tradition. Ustad Sabir Khan who came along with him, the scion of a great 'tabla' family, brawny of forearm, demonstrated a level of sheer power and adeptness that is rarely witnessed in Sri Lanka. And our own Amaradeva, accomplished and fine-grained in both voice and violin, and radiantly back in form, complemented the visiting talents.

What they offered was mainstream classical music, albeit melodically leavened with a touch of the folk. No concessions were made to 'pop' taste, and the fusion philosophy, now becoming ominously fashionable, was firmly held at bay. Vigorous yet delicate, it was a finely-tuned music that embodied the true spirit of the form, especially in the improvisatory passages. Art and craft blended endearingly as the music unfolded. But it transcended mere adroitness and dexterity with instrument and voice.

Pandit Jog exhibits none of the arrogance and vanity that some maestros carry around with them wherever they go. My partner and I went up to greet him after the concert, and thank him for the cultivated pleasures he and his partners had offered us. He was touched. Speaking without pretension or rhetorical flourish, he said: 'Young people today think that music is just calculation. It is something much greater. Music speaks from the heart. It is divine.' In a word, real music begins where technique ends.

In London last month to present a concert at the Barbican, and to launch his new autobiography, 'Raga Mala,' Ravi Shankar (a personality markedly different from Jog) told 'The Independent on Sunday':

'What really makes me happy is not a recording or a written down composition that can be played again and again, but something like last night's concert. You can think about it and it makes you feel good, but it's something you cannot hold. The greatest thrill is to have an appreciative audience. When I am soaring high, with five hundred or five thousand who are also soaring high with me, that is the greatest ecstasy, I think.'

I am sure Sri Lanka did not fail to provide a similar thrill to the Indian visitors. (Pandit Jog told us: 'I am overwhelmed by the appreciative audiences we have met in this country.') For our part, we all 'felt good' afterwards. And we shall continue to capture the memory and feel good. As for myself, I am also excited by thoughts that go beyond the immediate performance event. Watching Sabir Khan, Jog and Amaradeva ' respectively Muslim, Hindu and Buddhist ' speaking the same tongue, uniting in it and indeed revelling in it, my mind travelled outwards into the dreams and aspirations of SAARC. For what was manifest on stage was the heart and soul of SAARC, a part of its objective essence ' its musical inheritance. In sum, SAARC's cultural unity in a particular mode of aesthetic articulation. I have said this many times before and I must say it again ' this unity, this sense of community engendered through both traditional and contemporary art forms, is the central supportive strength of SAARC, and the foundation upon which to erect other, newer structures. It is gratifying to note that this fact is now being recognized, as indicated in the splendid idea of setting up a SAARC Institute of Culture which was proposed at Colombo summit by Sri Lanka. A complex project, and one that must be nourished with great circumspection and tender loving care, but one deserving of every effort.

Meanwhile, bouquets to all concerned with the Jog-Amaradeva finale to our shared jubilee celebrations with India. And a special 'pranam' to Amaradeva for demonstrating an often elided cultural reality. Ragadhari music can no longer be designated as 'Indian' ' it is a common possession of the peoples of South Asia. It has been internalised '- assimilated and absorbed into the variant cultural matrices of South Asia. The Ragadhari system represents South Asia's Great Tradition of music. Period. CHITRASENA

I was happy to meet Chitrasena and Vajira at the Bishop's College recital. They are back home after a very successful tour of India which included a performance at Santiniketan. Chitrasena was most warmly welcomed at his alma mater. But he expressed a certain sense of disenchantment with the place. Santiniketan is not what it was in his day back in the Forties, and he doesn't approve of the changes that have overtaken his beloved institution.

Like Jog in Sri Lanka, the Chitrasena Dancers were applauded wherever they went. It is not hard to understand why. Apart from the Company's professionalism, its standards of choreography are apt to win esteem. Furthermore, from the time Tagore drew attention to them, Sri Lankan dances, especially the Kandyan variety, have been admired by the cognoscenti in India.

Before he left on the Indian tour, Chitrasena found himself one huge step closer to the fulfilment of a longstanding dream ' the establishment of a dance studio in Colombo. He received the gift of a piece of land from the hands of the President. Now we await the consummation of his dream: the actual construction of a studio as the proper home and training ground for Sri Lanka's premier dance company.

Can we expect to see something concrete before the end of the millenium? Let's hope so, for the sake of dance in Sri Lanka.

Playright Eugene O'Neill says in his 'A moon for the misbegotten' - 'there is no present or future - only the past, happening over and over again - now.' Novelist Leon Uris prefaces his epic novel on Ireland 'Trinity'. With that quote from O'Neill. It is the appropriate leitmotif for both the novel as well as the tragic violence that permeates the contemporary history of Ireland the 'emerald Isle'.

The latest incident in the cycle of violence that continues in Northern Ireland was the brutal car bomb explosion last Saturday at Omagh. 28 people were killed, 11 critically injured, and 220 injured. For Sri Lankans used to horrible carnages such as the Pettah and Central Bank vehicle bomb attacks the casualty tolling Omagh may seem less. Nevertheless to Ireland it is the largest ever or most brutal massacre in a single incident in its nearly three decades of conflict. More importantly the explosion threatened to blast hopes of a permanent peace for Northern Ireland. A peace that set in with the Good Friday accord this year. An accord that was strengthened by the overwhelming mandate received in there referendum of May 22nd further reinforced by elections in June.

The pattern alas is sadly familiar. A struggle of armed violence is waged by one group of persons for a nationalist goal. Mellowed by experience it decides that violence will not help it achieve its goal and opts for a peace of the brave. But another group of dissidents emerge and continue with the struggle. The group opting for peace is accused of betraying the cause. The new adherents of armed struggle launch a bitterly savage campaign that alters the political climate. The fragile peace process is fractured. The situation diteriorated quickly and soon everything is back to square one. The cyclic violence continues.

It is this situation that is prevailing now in Ireland North. The provisional Irish Republican Army that waged a continuous struggle for several decades in pursuit of its goal of Irish reunification, influenced by its political wing, the Sinn Fein, opted to go along with the Good Friday accord. But dissidents within its ranks opposing the accord have formed a splinter group, the Real IRA. Compared to the main IRA its strength is negligible.

Yet with the aid of like-minded marginal groups it has embarked on a campaign of terror. Although a peripheral outfit lacking mass support or endorsement the real IRA threatens to sabotage and stymie the entire peace process. A scheme set in motion with the active backing of the governments of Britain and Eire, the support of the mainstream political organizations of Northern Ireland and above all the ratification an overwhelming number of people faces now the danger of derailment.

Saturday's violence has only caused a ripple in the political waters. That singular act by itself cannot capsize the vessel of peace. But the danger is the ripple effect of reactions to it. A people are promised peace but then are faced with the horror of violence again. This immediately strengthens the hand of those who were opposed to the settlement in the first place. Unionist hard-liners like the Orangemen and the likes of Rev. Ian Paisely. Unionist paramilitaries end their ceasefire. The middle ground or those not having unshakeable convictions are also swayed. Then when security measures envelope the Catholics in their entirety the Nationalist extremist numbers well. Thus what began as a ripple turns into a wave that quickly disrupts the peace process.

It is this process of undermining the peace accord that has seemingly begun now. The Protestant hardliners have started criticising the accord. The paramilitaries are on the verge of erupting into violence again. Pressure on the relatively moderate nationalists like Gerry Adams increases. Many ordinary people appalled by the violence are crying out to the media 'no more peace'. The driving force behind the peace process British Prime Minister Tony Blair senses the despondent mood. That's why he says when referring to the bombers 'These people mustn't be allowed to succeed'. Appearing on TV Blair said 'Our other emotion has got to be, not simply one of outrage at the evil of it and total determination to bring the perpetrators of it to justice, but an equal determination that these people will not win, that they will not destroy the process that we have built up'.

The break up of the IRA and emergence of the Real IRA is once again consistent with the past history of Irish Republican nationalism. Fragmentation has been prevalent throughout. In 1922 when Michael Collins signed the controversial agreement with Britain that saw 26 of the 32 Irish counties gaining home rule those opposing it split. A ruthlessly internecine conflict began between moderates and purists, Michael Collins himself was ambushed and killed for his alleged betrayal. Yet the moderates employing harsh and sterner measures than the British themselves smashed the republican hardliners. 11,000 were interned and 77 executed but the moderates prevailed.

Another split occurred in 1926 when realists who believed that the Irish Republic could be achieved by anti-imperialist strategies more than sheer militarism broke away from extreme republicanism to form the Fianna Fail party. Its leader Eamon de Valera was swept into office on a wave in 1932. He was ruthless in dealing with extreme republicans. Jailing and hanging them and allowing some to die in pointless hunger strikes.

For several decades a dwindling band of committed nationalists kept up the image of being the 'legitimate' forces of the Irish people, Continuous reversals in the military campaign against the Unionist Statev saw a surprising reorientation. The republican movement saw those of left leaning views taking over its reins. From extreme nationalism the IRA was now becoming radical socialists with a partiality towards Moscow. The movement split again when the leftist leadership signed a ceasefire in 1972 with the British. The provisionals who wanted to prolong the struggle broke away.

A northern Irish group led by Gerry Adams and Danny Morrison revived a moribund Sinn Fein and adopted the political creed of non-violent nationalism. The 1981 republican hunger strikes and the martyrdom of Bobby Sans, etc. mobilised widespread political support. The nationalists began evolving a clearly demarcated political and military strategy.

The 'morbid' paranoia of 'Politics' however began to diminish gradually in the nineties. The Adams - Mcguinness duo was highly successful in political leadership. Most members and supporters backed their negotiating manoeuvres for powersharing and securing the release of prisoners an emotive issue. Finally after many ups and downs came the Good Friday accord. The referendum saw the majority of Northern Ireland's Catholics backing it. After the elections the Sinn Fein is now entitled to two posts in the twelve-member executive or board of ministers governing Northern Ireland.

Although the accord accepts the permanent division of Ireland a sore point with Irish Catholic nationalists there is the possibility that it may become a reality in the future. In fact Gerry Adams himself emphasises that the goal of reunification has not been abandoned but merely put on hold. He says that it will be possible to bring about Irish unity without violence in the future. Adams and indeed many of the moderate nationalists base their hopes on demographics.

The birth rate of Catholics is very high as compared to Protestants whose rate is minute. Also more protestants are migrating away from Northern Ireland in search of greener pastures. On this basis Adams hopes that in about three decades the Catholics would become the majority and vote for reunification peacefully and legally. Apart from this dream there is also the realisation that the war in the long run is unwinnable.

Despite this being the majority opinion within the IRA and Sinn Fein a microscopic minority refused to go along. Keeping alive the nationalist tradition of treating compromises as treachery these dissidents struck out on their own. They charged the IRA as having betrayed the cause and projected themselves as the true heirs to the Republican Nationalist legacy. So they named themselves Oglaigh nah Eireann or the 'real IRA'. They were dismissed initially as being of no significance. But the acts of violence committed recently hold out the possibility that the Real IRA may upset the delicate peace process under-way.

The real IRA's tale commenced about a year ago. The Sinn Fein in a dramatic policy shift, ratified the Mitchell principles enshrining non-violence last September and earned participatory status at the multi-party talks at Stormont. There was a lot of unease among most Sinn Fein members about the ultimate result of the creation of the North Ireland assembly but still did not rock the boat. Apart from the IRA there are two other Irish outfits, the Irish National Liberation Army and the Continuity IRA. Both refused to engage in talks and opposed the IRA ceasefire. Since the combined strength of both was only a little more than a hundred they were not perceived as serious threats to peace when the 'giant' IRA was co-operating.

There was in the IRA an elusive figure known as the 'Quartermaster - general' or officer in charge of arms and ammunition. He along with two 'engineers' skilled in setting up explosives were vehemently opposed to the Storment peace process. The quartermaster general demanded an extraordinary 'clandestine: convention of the IRA to discuss the Sinn Fein's adherence to The Miitchell principles. It was a miscalculated attempt to topple or undermine Gerry Adams and Martin Mcginess over their political strategy. Although there was some support for the 'Quartermaster insiders say that he was outmanoeuvred. As a result he quit the IRA after the stormy sessions at Gweedore, Donegal. He promised that the arms caches and ammunition dumps would not be 'disturbed'.

About twenty IRA volunteers followed the Quartermaster general out of the IRA after the Gweedore fall-out. They formed themselves into the Real Irish Republican Army or RIRA. They proclaimed themselves as heirs to the militant nationalist tradition beginning in modern times from the Easter uprising. Once the Real IRA started functioning more and more dissidents from the original IRA began joining up. So too were others from the Sinn Fein. According to Knowledgeable sources apart from the original 21, 65 others have quit and joined the Real IRA. 30 were from the Sinn Fein and 35 from the IRA. The Real IRA also began attracting new recruits dissatisfied with the compromise politics of Adams - Mcginess. A substantial portion of these were youngsters without much experience. It is said that the bulk of recruits from across the border in the Irish Republic are youth.

The real IRA also has commenced a working relationship with other like minded groups like the INLA and Continuity IRA. The Continuity IRA and its military wing the Continuity Army Council (CAC) was formed after a split in the IRA in 1986. These dissidents claimed to be continuing the authentic IRA tradition. It began make its presence felt after 1994 only. The Irish National Liberation Army or INLA was a Marxist breakaway faction from the main IRA in the early seventies. It has been responsible for some of the bloodiest attacks against British rule. Both groups are said to possess remarkable arsenals and operational expertise something which the Real IRA needs a lot just now.

The Real Irish Republican Army has also formed its political wing like the Sinn Fein of the IRA. It is called the 32 County Sovereignty Committee and is dedicated to upholding the Irish Declaration of Independence more than 70 years ago. As the name 32 County suggests it is for absolute unification of all 32 counties of Ireland into one entity. That is the 26 of the Irish Republic and the 6 of Northern Ireland. Its charter accepts the use of violence although claiming to be a peaceful organization.

The leading light of the 32 County Sovereignty Committee is 39 year old Bernadette Sands - McKevitt. She is nominally the vice - chair. Bernadette is the wife of another leading supporter of the RIRA Michael McKevitt. Both have been resident in Dundalk for more than 20 years running a tee-shirt printing business. Bernadette is also the sister of Irish martyr Bobby Sands. A picture of Bobby adorns her office. Being his sister gives her clout as Bobby Sands is one of the sacred icons of Irish nationalism. Although not visibly active until last year Bernadette became the articulate spokeswoman of the nationalist movement. People listen when she speaks. A favourite line is to say that this deal was not for what Bobby Sands died.

Her husband Michael McKevitt is a middle aged businessman tunning along with his wife the made to order printed tee - - shirts enterprise. He is rarely seen and is extremely low profile. He has a 25 year history in the IRA and was shot in both legs in the seventies. Although KcKevitt is considered to be a prominent figure in the RIRA there is a strong opinion in police circles that he is in fact the chief of the real Irish Republican Army. He is suspected of being the mysterious 'Quartermaster - general' of the IRA who split last year and founded the RIRA.

The nominal head of the 32 County Sovereignty Committee is Francis Mackey a local councillor from Omagh where the car bomb exploded. He was elected on a Sinn Fein ticket from which he has expelled for supporting the dissidents. He is the chair of the 32 CSC and has officially issued a statement denying any complicity in the bomb attack. Mackey's teen aged son however is one of the five arrested by the Police in the aftermath of the car bomb. 'Raiding my house at 7 a.m. and arresting my son who had nothing to do with it is nothing short of harassment,' laments Frank Mackey.

Among the RIRA's members is the one time England Department head of the IRA a fact that does not bode good for the future. In fact attempts to stage bombing incidents in England were foiled because vehicles with explosives were seized by the Police. Until the Omagh incident the RIRA has not registered any big 'Success'. The RIRA's first 'martyr' was Rohan McLochlainn aged 27 and a father of three. He was shot dead in Dublin in May this year when six RIRA members tried to raise funds for the movement by attempting an armed robbery of 300,000 Sterling from a security van. Police were lying in wait and he was shot dead. Ms. Sands-McKevitt, Mr. MacKevitt, Frank Mckey and other figures from the RIRA were present at the funeral thereby enabling the Police to identify the leaders clearly.

The car used for the bombing at Omagh was a maroon Vauxhall Astra. It is believed to have been stolen from Monaghan. The bomb was of about 500 pounds of home-made explosives. An old fashioned timer device was used. The bomb was of traditional IRA ingredient such as ammonium-nitrite fertiliser and sugar. These bombs are supercharged by Semtex booster charges and with coils of plastic tubing containing powdered Semtex. The Police being able to apprehend two RIRA bombs on earlier occasions at Dundalk and Dun Laoghaire have enabled them to analyse the RIRA bombs well. It is suspected that a bomb making plant has been set up in the border area.

A particularly gruesome aspect of the Onagh attack was the phone call that deliberately gave wrong directions of the car bomb. The Police were herding people at a crowded hour to one end as they were informed that the bomb was at the other end near the courthouse instead it exploded 250 yards away from where it was said to be. There are few takers for the theory that it was a 'mistake' by the RIRA.

The Real IRA began its campaign unannounced by detonating their first bomb at the Royal Ulster Constabulary station at Markethill in Armagh. This was two months after the IRA signed the second ceasefire. The RUC cleared the area and there were few casualties. The bomb was in a white Ford transit van stolen in Dundalk. In Jan. this year a 500 pound bomb in a Ford Sierra was defused at Banbridge in Down. Examination of the bomb showed clear signs of IRA technology. Two days later the Garda or Police seized 1.5 tonnes of explosives in a disused factory at Howth.

In February two car bombs exploded within three days at Portadown and Moira. The bombs caused extensive damage but few injuries. In March the republican Gardai seized a 1200 pound bomb in a stolen Mitsubishi Pajero at Dundalk and a 600lb bomb in a REnault at Hackballscross. Another 1200lb bomb intercepted at the Dun Laoghaire ferry terminal as it was being taken to Britain was in a stolen BMW. Later two mortar attacks were launched by the RIRA in Arnagh and Forkhill. All these acts were timed to coincide with meaningful initiatives undertaken by the Sinn Fein in pursuit of the peace agreement. The idea was to embarrass the Sinn Fein and sabotage the peace process.

A third mortar attack fired at a busy spot in Newry was an indication of the RIRA's recklessness. The 200lb mortar mercifully failed to explode. Two other car bombings were executed on June 24th at Newtown Hamilton and on Aug. 1st at Bandridge. In both instances warnings were less specific and tightly times than the usual IRA operations. Saturday's attack is the most heinous of the RIRA so far and was the first in the County of Tyronne.

The latest RIRA attack seems to have earned for the RIRA universal condemnation. In Ireland itself there does not seem to be any sympathy overy. Besides the IRA itself is schagrined at the turn of events. At the same time it is certain that if the RIRA continues unchecked it may be able to transform the climate and derail the peace process. If all the political forces that have a stake in the peace process are firmly determined and act unitedly then it may be possible to curb the RIRA.

There was a time when the Irish question that demanded a political solution was being handled wrongly because of the adoption of a military approach. Now the correct approach namely a political solution is being worked out with overwhelming support of the people. A microscopic faction that has no democratic power or sanction seeks to undermine it through exercising its destructive capacity and nothing more. This calls for a militaristic approach and not a political one.

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