Bloody Sunday Remembered in the English Midlands

The Troops Out Movement, which campaigns for British withdrawal from Ireland, held its annual Bloody Sunday Remembered meetings in the Midlands last week. The 1992 BBC film by Peter Taylor was shown and the main speaker was Cahil McElhinny whose brother Kevin was shot dead by British Soldiers on Bloody Sunday, 30th January 1972. The families have suffered 38 years of loss with no government acknowledgement of the truth of that day

Peter Taylor’s film “Remember Bloody Sunday” shows the horrific reality of what happened on the day of the massacre, it shows the lengths the army went to trying to cover up their atrocities, the stunned disbelief of the people of Derry out on a fine day to protest about Internment and the shock and disbelief of the relatives who lost their loved ones. It shows the outrageous arrogance of senior army officers refusing to admit they did anything wrong and the honesty of one sergeant major seriously critical of the army actions and attitudes.

It also exposed the original Widgery Tribunal for the pack of lies it was.

Interestingly in the film Colonel Derek Wilford refers to “normal operations of war”, “act of war” and “..... end the war in Ireland”. When did the British government admit that they were at war in the Six Counties? The army spokesman exposed the British lie of its motivation for being in Ireland. It certainly wasn’t peacekeeping as the British people were told”

Cahill went on after the film to speak of the Saville Inquiry and the relatives frustration at the lack of progress with publication of the report. It is over five years since the end of the Inquiry. The relatives have been told that the report is at the printers and has to be proof read three times. They have been told that it should be released in March, but of course, if the Prime Minister announces the date of the General Election it will then be shelved and the Tories have said that they will bury the report as it has cost far too much already. The high cost of the Saville Inquiry is because the British authorities told lies in the first place. Lies and cover ups is what has cost millions, truth costs nothing. Cahil spoke of the army’s destruction of the rifles used on Bloody Sunday just days before the Inquiry started. No one has been charged with perverting the cause of justice.

Cahil also spoke to remind us of the Ballymurphy Massacre when eleven people were shot dead during the first three days of internment in August 1971.

If the British authorities had dealt with this atrocity, by the same soldiers who went on to commit the murders in Derry, maybe Bloody Sunday would never have happened.

Cahill was also a guest speaker at the Annual General Meeting of Wolverhampton Trade Union Council where he was very well received. Mary Pearson of the Troops Out Movement had spoken on the Saville Inquiry at Birmingham TUC the previous week.

The Troops Out Movement would like to thank Cahil and the other relatives of Bloody Sunday for keeping us continually updated on the progress, or otherwise, of the Saville Inquiry and extend our solidarity greetings to their anniversary events.