BY PETE CLIFFORD
LONDON - Hundreds of people in Derry, Northern Ireland, are
coming forward to make statements for the forthcoming public
inquiry into Bloody Sunday, according to John McKinney. He and
other relatives of the 14 Irish civil rights protesters shot
dead by the British Army on Jan. 30, 1972, are determined that
the truth be told. Demonstrations are being organized in both
Derry, where the killings took place, and here in the British
capital to mark the 27th anniversary of Bloody Sunday.
The new inquiry was won in January 1998 through a massive fight to overturn the previous Widgery Tribunal, which had exonerated the British Army and government. Demonstrations marking Bloody Sunday are an annual event in Derry; last year's attracted 40,000 people. This fight for justice has increasingly gained an international hearing too. As it has deepened, the British-organized cover-up has cracked.
The demonstrators were killed when British occupation troops opened fire on a civil rights march of 30,000 protesting London's policy of internment without trial. The march had been banned by the British government, which deployed thousands of troops to prevent it from reaching Derry city center. The 14 were shot as they fled the British Army assault as the march ended.
New evidence of the British government cover-up continues to emerge. In early December 1998, a confidential police report drawn up after the massacre was made public for the first time as a result of the relatives' fight. It described the killing of Jackie Duddy, one of the civil rights marchers, as "murder," but claimed it was not clear which Army soldier fired the shots.
The British government's nervousness is revealed by the fact that only 144 of the estimated 3,000 soldiers deployed in Derry that day have voluntarily come forward to testify before the inquiry. Government officials claim they cannot find the others. Those who supposedly can't be found include members of the Royal Anglican Regiment, who according to evidence revealed last year fired sniper shots into the crowd from Derry's city walls.
Meanwhile, those soldiers who are testifying are repeating the 1972 British government claim that they were facing attack from gunmen, acid, and nail bombs. The newly revealed police report, however, confirms that none of those killed were near bombs or using guns when shot.
The British government is also seeking to claim immunity from prosecution for soldiers who testify. Tony Doherty, a spokesperson for the relatives, said they opposed blanket immunity. "Soldiers should be legally accountable for their actions," he told An Phoblacht the weekly paper of the Irish republican party Sinn Fein.
The London demonstration on January 30 will for the first time march through the city center past Prime Minister Anthony Blair's residence at Downing Street and the Houses of Parliament. Alongside one of the relatives, a Sinn Fein leader will speak and for the first time the Social Democratic and Labour Party from Northern Ireland has agreed to send a speaker.
In addition, underlining how the British military occupation remains today, Diane Hammill will address the rally. Her brother was killed by a pro-British "loyalist" gang in Portadown, Northern Ireland, in 1997 as the British-run Royal Ulster Constabulary looked on. London march spokesperson Enda Finlay said, "Bloody Sunday is at the heart of the ongoing fight on all fronts for justice in Ireland and an end to the British effort to stall the gains made by nationalists."
Pete Clifford is a member of the Rail, Maritime and Transport workers union.