When David Cameron later today addresses parliament to publish Lord Saville’s findings into the events of Bloody Sunday, he will do so against a backdrop of anger and hurt.
When David Cameron later today addresses the House of Commons to publish Lord Saville’s findings into the events of Bloody Sunday, he will do so against a backdrop of anger and hurt. Already, before a word of the report is published, rancour and recrimination is plain for all to see. The Belfast Telegraph has reported that Northern Ireland’s Director of Public Prosecutions will consider whether to charge soldiers involved in the deaths of 13 civil rights protestors in Derry on January 30, 1972.
Quoted in The Times, Joe McKinney, whose brother Willie was shot dead on Bloody Sunday aged 27, pointedly remarked:
“We know who murdered Willie and that person has to be pursued right through the British justice system.”
The Newsletter, however, yesterday led with the news that two senior military figures had concluded that if soldiers were prosecuted, then so should the former IRA member and now deputy first minister, Martin McGuniess, for his part in one of Northern Ireland’s darkest days.
As Major General Julian Thompson, a commanding officer in the Royal Marines, stationed in Armagh during the troubles has commented:
“In that case, let’s prosecute the IRA as well, men like McGuinness. How about drawing a line under this unless we want to go and prosecute all the IRA guys who murdered as well?
“It’s ironic that these guys [British soldiers] could be prosecuted and the people who’ve murdered 20 times more than they have are being allowed off.”
Both these position demonstrate clearly the tensions, the anger and the hurt that will be felt when Lord Saville’s report is finally released. However, as Northern Ireland yet again faces the need to come to terms with a scar in its history, today’s events could also provide an opportunity for some sort of reconciliation.
As Archbishop Desmond Tutu has previously concluded:
“Forgiving and being reconciled to our enemies or our loved ones are not about pretending that things are other than they are. It is not about patting one another on the back and turning a blind eye to the wrong. True reconciliation exposes the awfulness, the abuse, the hurt, the truth.
“It could even sometimes make things worse. It is a risky undertaking but in the end it is worthwhile, because in the end only an honest confrontation with reality can bring real healing. Superficial reconciliation can bring only superficial healing.”
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8 Responses to “The Saville Report – an opportunity for reconciliation”
Liz McShane
David Dee – Agree with you.
People like Gen Thompson should think of is if a similar incident (ie a civil rights march to protest against shocking housing & voting discrimination) were to take place in say Leeds, Newcastle or Manchester and the army opened fire and killed 13 civilians – there would be uproar & rightly so!
All these people were marching for was simple, basic equality in what was a very unfair city – a predominant Nationalist/Catholic city where Unionists/Protestants had two votes for every Nationalist/Catholic vote with regards to the council.
The protest led by John Hume was just asking for ‘British Rights for British Citizens’ nothing more, nothing less.
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[…] 1921 which reports directly to parliament. This was the legislation under which the Bloody Sunday Inquiry was […]