30th of January 1972, 14 civil rights activists were shot dead. 38 years later Justice came to Derry

international | rights, freedoms and repression | news report Wednesday June 16, 2010 17:52 by dunk

Bloody Sunday : “Set The Truth Free.”

'The conclusions of this report (The Saville Report) are absolutely clear. There is no doubt, there is nothing equivocal, there are no ambiguities. What happened on Bloody Sunday was both unjustified and unjustifiable. It was wrong. On behalf of our country I am deeply sorry"

British prime minister David Cameron, Tuesday 15th June 2010 (38 years after the events of Bloody Sunday)

On the 30th of January 1972 in Derry, Ireland 26 civil rights demonstrators and bystanders were shot by the British Army Parachute Regiment without warning or provocation. 13 died on the spot and another was mortally wounded. All were unarmed and most were teenagers. No one has ever been brought to justice.

Kevin McElhinney, Gerald Donaghy, John Duddy, Bernard McGuigan, Michael McDaid, William Nash, James Wray, Michael Kelly, John Johnston, John Young, William McKinney, Gerard McKinney, Hugh Gilmore, Patrick Doherty

After a wait of 38 years Justice has finally come to the people of Derry. Yesterday the new head of the British state David Cameron said "What happened on Bloody Sunday was both unjustified and unjustifiable" as the findings of the Saville Report were released, yet for the last 38 years Britain did try to justify their actions in Derry.

If this massacre had not happened, perhaps the unfolding years of violence might not have reached the bloody levels it did reach. Many people state that everything changed on Bloody Sunday, people moved from non violent civil disobediance to joining the ranks of the provos, the armed wing of the provisional IRA.

38 years later, thousands of deaths later, decades of despair, this part of "The troubles" has come to an end. We will see how things further unfold...

Here is a roundup of some of the news reports, from both sides of the pond, about this momentous occasion.

*** Related infos

The Saville Report - http://report.bloody-sunday-inquiry.org/
Bloody Sunday documentary - Part 1 of 5 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MxdZJzjPVQ
Bloody Sunday 1972 - RTE footage, Reeling in the years - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=paoXAB16x8M
Bloody Sunday , wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloody_Sunday_%281972%29
David Cameron apology - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQ666bnJOg8
Bloody Sunday report delivers relief and exoneration after 38 years - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpxhpGTyQ2A

*** ___ Ireland

*** Irish Times

- "On behalf of our country I am deeply sorry" – British prime minister David Cameron
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/frontpage/2010/0616...a=rel

- Cowen to meet victims' families14:30Saville report finds 14 people shot dead by British troops on Bloody Sunday were innocent
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2010/0616/....html

* Main points of Saville report
* Protestant clergy meet Derry families
* 'On behalf of our country I am deeply sorry'
* Daly welcomes Saville findings
* Editorial: The day they said sorry
* Full coverage of the Saville report
* Slideshow of Bloody Sunday images
* Interactive map of Bloody Sunday events

*** RTE

RTE - The Bloody Sunday Report
http://www.rte.ie./news/2010/0615/savillereport.html

RTE report yesterday - Saville: Bloody Sunday killings unjustifiable
http://www.rte.ie./news/2010/0615/bloodysunday.html

*** Irish Independant

- front page PDF - http://www.independent.ie//independent.ie/editorial/tod...6.pdf

- Cowen welcomes vindication at last for murdered civilians
http://www.independent.ie/national-news/cowen-welcomes-....html

* How the 14 victims of the Bloody Sunday massacre died
http://www.independent.ie/national-news/how-the-14-vict....html

* Robert Fisk: 'We didn't care about the Irish -- Catholics or Protestants'
http://www.independent.ie/national-news/robert-fisk-we-....html

* Maurice Hayes: No triumphalism, just sensitivity and dignity on a remarkable day
http://www.independent.ie/opinion/analysis/maurice-haye....html

* Kevin Myers: The IRA had no better friend than the Paras -- wherever they went, IRA recruitment rose
http://www.independent.ie/opinion/columnists/kevin-myer....html

* Martin Brennan: Battle cry of Paras still rings in my ears
http://www.independent.ie/opinion/analysis/martin-brenn....html

*** Irish Examiner

- Britain says sorry for Bloody Sunday iris hexaminer
http://www.irishexaminer.com/archives/2010/0616/ireland....html

BRITAIN held its hands up yesterday to the killing of 14 civilians shot by soldiers from the Parachute Regiment on Bloody Sunday.

More than 38 years after the events in Derry, when troops opened fire on unarmed civil rights marchers, the mammoth Saville Inquiry report delivered a devastating indictment.

It said none of the dead posed a threat and the actions of the soldiers were totally without justification.

*** Belfast Telegraph

Bloody Sunday: Victims exonerated‎ after 38 years as Saville pins blame on British soldiers
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/b....html

*** ___ Britain

*** The Guardian

- Bloody Sunday report: 38 years on, justice at last
front page - http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/jun/15/bloody-sunday-...cuted

• Saville report finds Bloody Sunday killings 'unjustified'
• Cameron apologises for 1972 shooting of innocent marchers
• Soldiers could be prosecuted for murder or lying to inquiry

- related vid - Thousands gather to listen to Bloody Sunday verdict
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/video/2010/jun/15/northern...eland

*** BBC

- 'I went to every day of evidence at the Bloody Sunday inquiry'
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/8720700.stm

- Wilford: 'We were fired at first'
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/northern_ireland/10329238.stm

Lt Col Derek Wilford interviewed by RTE's Eddie Barratt on the day following Bloody Sunday. Col Wilford was commander on the ground in Derry and has been heavily criticised by the Saville report.

- Paras back colonel criticised in Bloody Sunday report
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/northern_ireland/10325283.stm

*** Independant UK

- Saville pins the blame for Bloody Sunday on British soldiers
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/saville-....html

- Robert Fisk: The innocent became the guilty, the guilty innocent
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/fisk/....html

Something new was happening. These were hard men. There was no way of negotiating with them

We knew the First Battalion, the Parachute Regiment. "Tough" was the word we reporters used if the soldiers were beating up rioters.

Brutal was the word we should have used. But sometime towards the end of 1971, I think we all realised that the Parachute Regiment was being prepared for some pretty nasty confrontations. They were the hard men, the reserve battalion at Palace Barracks, Holywood, a boring seaside town on the south side of Belfast Lough, a unit that spent most of its time waiting for trouble.

*** Times (UK)

- Paras: Bloody Sunday report ‘one-sided’
http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/uk/article2558033.ece

Six paratroopers who served in Londonderry on Bloody Sunday have accused the Saville report of making a scapegoat of their commanding officer while deliberately ignoring the role played by the Provisional IRA. The soldiers, none of whom fired shots at the victims on that day.

*** Daily Mail

- Bloody Sunday paratroopers defend commanding officer 'singled out for criticism' in long-awaited Saville Report
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1287073/Bloody-...PFyD5

*** Others

Eirigí - Britain Admits What the World Knows
http://www.eirigi.org/latest/latest150610.html

It may have taken more than 38 years, but the British government today [Tuesday] admitted what the world has known since January 30 1972 – that those the Parachute Regiment slaughtered on the streets of Derry on Bloody Sunday were innocent.

As thousands gathered outside Derry’s Guildhall, British prime minister David Cameron rose to speak in the British House of Parliament and admit that his government could no longer hide from the truth.

Democracy Now! - Britain Acknowledges "Bloody Sunday" Killings Were Unjustified and Apologizes to Victims’ Families
http://www.democracynow.org/2010/6/16/bloody_sunday

A long-awaited British judicial inquiry into "Bloody Sunday"—when British paratroopers shot dead fourteen demonstrators in Northern Ireland—has found the killings were "unjustified" and lays heavy blame on the army. The findings were celebrated by campaigners for the victims and their families. British Prime Minister David Cameron announced the findings in Parliament and apologized on behalf of the British state.