David Cameron’s apology to the families of those who lost their lives on Bloody Sunday following the publication of the Saville Inquiry was a powerful moment in Northern Ireland’s political history.
David Cameron’s apology to the families of those who lost their lives on Bloody Sunday following the publication of the Saville Inquiry was a powerful moment in Northern Ireland’s political history. The hope will be that his report can provide the truth that will aid the painful process of reconciling the past, whilst also securing a peaceful future for Northern Ireland.
Left Foot Forward highlights just some of the reaction to Saville’s report, a clear demonstration of raw feelings that continue to be felt on all sides.
In the Newsletter, Tony Doherty, a son of one of the fourteen deceased, spoke for many of those families who lost loved ones in Derry on 30th January 1972, declaring:
“It can now be proclaimed to the world that the dead and the wounded of Bloody Sunday, civil rights marchers, one and all, were innocent, one and all, gunned down on their own streets by soldiers who had been given to believe that they could kill with perfect impunity.”
Quoted in The Guardian from Derry’s Guildhall, alongside all the families who lost loved ones on Bloody Sunday, the former SDLP Leader and Nobel Peace Prize Winner John Hume expressed his relief that the truth was now out:
“Lord Saville’s report is a tremendous outcome for the long campaign which the families have carried through. Throughout their journey they have had the strong support of the people of the city.
“The people of Derry once again showed that they have stood shoulder to shoulder with the families by turning out in such huge numbers to witness this declaration of total innocence. The truth has won out.”
In accepting David Cameron’s apology to those families who have been so tragically touched by the events of bloody Sunday, Iain Dale yesterday served to highlight the anger that exists within the unionist movement, writing:
“I think now though of the hundreds of families whose loved ones were brutally murdered by the IRA. Did they get their own Saville Inquiry? No. Did they get justice? Rarely. Many of those families will be in pieces today, as it is all brought back to them.
“Like the victims of Bloody Sunday and their families, these families too were innocent bystanders. Yet they can’t get ‘closure’. And in many cases, they see the murderers of their loved ones walking freely on the streets of Northern Ireland today.”
Early today, Left Foot Forward’s Patrick Bury, a former Captain in the Royal Irish Regiment who has served on operations as part of the Parachute Regiment, wrote of the failure of ethos and leadership on Bloody Sunday:
“D-Day, Arnhem, The Falklands. Perhaps these place names and battle honours of The Parachute Regiment point to why the men of its 1st Battalion’s Support Company should not have been anywhere near Rossville Flats, Rossville Street or Glenfada Park on 30th January 1972.
“That the elite, aggressive, fighting unit of the British army was used to contain a civil rights demonstration highlights poor judgement at the higher echelons of military command, a failure to recognise the innate ethos of paratroops, and poor tactical leadership by those paratroop leaders on the ground.”
Writing in The Guardian, Jonathan Freedland expressed his belief that Saville had missed an opportunity to aid a much deeper process of healing, saying:
“After Saville, Cameron said there should be no more costly, open-ended inquiries. And yet the need extends beyond those 14 families vindicated at last yesterday. It’s all of Northern Ireland that needs to be reconciled with the truth.”
But for many, it is David McKittrick’s expression of hope that best embodies their feelings and aspirations that the Saville verdict can play its part in reconciling Northern Ireland’s dark days:
“No one expects the new report to bring immediate closure on such a controversial incident. Heated argument is, for example, expected on the question of whether erring soldiers should be prosecuted.
“But the hope is that there will be a basis for progress from an inquiry which lasted 12 years and cost almost £200m… the fervent hope is that Saville can make a contribution both to justice and the peace process.”
12 Responses to “The Saville Inquiry: what the media has to say”
Ell Aitch
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House Of Twits
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Liz McShane
Ed – hate to be pedantic but it’s John Hume (no ‘L’)……