* No warning had been given to any civilians before the soldiers opened fire
* None of the soldiers fired in response to attacks by petrol bombers or stone throwers
* Some of those killed or injured were clearly fleeing or going to help those injured or dying
* None of the casualties was posing a threat or doing anything that would justify their shooting
* There was no point in trying to soften or equivocate - the events of Bloody Sunday were not justified
* Many of the soldiers lied about their actions
* What happened should never, ever have happened
* Some members of the British armed forces acted wrongly
* On behalf of the government and the country, he said he was "deeply sorry"
* The events of Bloody Sunday were not premeditated
* Northern Ireland's Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness, Sinn Fein, was present at the time of the violence and "probably armed with a submachine gun" but did not engage in "any activity that provided any of the soldiers with any justification for opening fire"
Murdering cunts.
Bloody Sunday was a huge help for the IRA. People queued to join up. Anger in the Republic and the North was unprecidented. The British tried to whitewash it with a initial report that was a disgrace.
1000’s of refugees fled NI and set up on the other side of the border in camps and were also put up by people (my Granmother had 3 people from Derry staying in her house for a while.
40 fucking years…
Hopefully the families can finally move on but for many their lives have been destroyed.
I’m not sure it could have been sorted within a year in realpolitik terms. Can you imagine what this report would have done to the legitimacy of the British government in Northern Ireland had it been released in 1973? Instead of an insurgency it’d be an all-out war.
I have to say I’m really shocked at the lack of prevarication in the report as summarised. And the apology from Cameron.
As the BBC article says, it wasn’t the bloodiest day of the Troubles, but it was the most significant.
What caused it? Who gave the order to shoot? And why? This is what I wonder. And isn’t answered by the enquiry as far as I can tell. My theory has been that, given carte blanche, some Army bigwig or other decided to put the frighteners on the Paddies, in an Amritsar style.
Whether my speculation is true or not, God knows how many decades, and how many deaths, this outrage added to the situation.
While not diminishing the many murders that the terrorists committed, in terms of the supposedly sane actor in the situation - UK government policy - that and internment turned what was a very bad situation into a catastrophe that brought shame on my country and death to its streets.
I wonder if they’ll enact a South African-style amnesty from prosecution in return for “truth and reconciliation”.
All in all though, I actually hope that this is an end to it all. We have suffered for too long because neither side could let go of the past, so I dont think it is a good thing for us to now start demanding individuals be prosecuted. They would deserve it of course, but is that justice worth it if it just gives rise to a bunch of bitter sectarian pricks on both sides jumping on the chance to bring up a million other gripes and grievences. And there are those that will use it, have no doubt about that. They will use it, and things could spiral from there.
Its 2010. The man on the street just wants to get on with life. We know the people murdered were innocent. Lets leave it at that.
In a way, his apology sort of sums up the…I don’t even have the word here. David Cameron was six years old on Bloody Sunday. An entire generation has passed between now and then. It’s hard to know what the report could change so far on, whose minds it could change, what difference it will make for the future of the country, if for no other reason than it describes an incident that happened in an all but unrecognizable past.
I found this very interestink site. On the first page there is a link to the full text (PDF) of the “Widgery Report” that has now been withdrawn and replaced by the new report. And then you can follow the links at the bottom each page to related information, reports, books, etc., culminating in the Savile report. Unfortunately, it does not yet have a link to the full report, which I would very much like to see.