Outrage as Bloody Sunday Report is Further Delayed
Mary Pearson | 10.11.2008 15:17 | Birmingham
The Saville Inquiry is the public Inquiry into the events of Bloody Sunday in Derry in the north of Ireland. On Sunday 30th Jan 1972 13 civil rights demonstrators were shot dead by British paratroopers, another died later as a result his injuries. Four years after the end of the Inquiry there is still no report.Please act - see below
The Troops Out Movement have been contacted by a representative of the Bloody Sunday Relatives. He informed us that they have been notified by Lord Saville that his report into the murder of civilians by British Paratroopers is further delayed until next autumn.
John Kelly, whose brother Michael was murdered was clearly upset and angered at the news. He said:
“I am angry and totally devastated to have to wait at least another year for this report to be published. Saville recently informed us that the report had gone to professional editors, indicating that completion was in sight. It adds insult to injury that we have been given no real reason for the delay. The families have been very patient but our patience is wearing thin. We have a right to be treated with respect and dignity.
“The Saville Inquiry opened on 3rd April 1998 and officially closed in November 2004. Four years on we have no report. Why is there such reluctance to release the report to public scrutiny?”
Mary Pearson, Secretary of the Troops Out Movement, which has campaigned to expose the reality of Bloody Sunday since it conception in 1974, said
“This is yet another example of the British establishment treating Irish people with contempt. The relatives of the Bloody Sunday victims have a right to the immediate publication of this report.
We are asking people to demand that the report be published immediately and that the relatives receive it simultaneously with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.”
What can we do ?
• Write to Sean Woodward Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and your own MP at the House of Commons London SW1A 0AA. Email:
woodwardsh@parliament.uk www.writetothem.com
• Bombard MPs with letters, telephone calls, fax and email messages. Find their information at www.parliament.uk
• Organise delegations to MPs surgeries
• Call radio talk shows and write letters to newspapers
• Propose a motion at your Trade Unions, Political Party, Community group etc
• Write to Lord Saville at Bloody Sunday Inquiry PO Box 18031 London SW1y 4 WG
Email him at
http://www.bloody-sunday-inquiry.org.uk/index2.asp?p=8
Let us make sure people in England, Scotland and Wales know what is being done in their name.
John Kelly, whose brother Michael was murdered was clearly upset and angered at the news. He said:
“I am angry and totally devastated to have to wait at least another year for this report to be published. Saville recently informed us that the report had gone to professional editors, indicating that completion was in sight. It adds insult to injury that we have been given no real reason for the delay. The families have been very patient but our patience is wearing thin. We have a right to be treated with respect and dignity.
“The Saville Inquiry opened on 3rd April 1998 and officially closed in November 2004. Four years on we have no report. Why is there such reluctance to release the report to public scrutiny?”
Mary Pearson, Secretary of the Troops Out Movement, which has campaigned to expose the reality of Bloody Sunday since it conception in 1974, said
“This is yet another example of the British establishment treating Irish people with contempt. The relatives of the Bloody Sunday victims have a right to the immediate publication of this report.
We are asking people to demand that the report be published immediately and that the relatives receive it simultaneously with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.”
What can we do ?
• Write to Sean Woodward Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and your own MP at the House of Commons London SW1A 0AA. Email:
woodwardsh@parliament.uk www.writetothem.com • Bombard MPs with letters, telephone calls, fax and email messages. Find their information at www.parliament.uk
• Organise delegations to MPs surgeries
• Call radio talk shows and write letters to newspapers
• Propose a motion at your Trade Unions, Political Party, Community group etc
• Write to Lord Saville at Bloody Sunday Inquiry PO Box 18031 London SW1y 4 WG
Email him at
http://www.bloody-sunday-inquiry.org.uk/index2.asp?p=8 Let us make sure people in England, Scotland and Wales know what is being done in their name.
Mary Pearson
e-mail:
troopsoutmovement@btinternet.com
Homepage:
http://www.troopsoutmovement.com
Comments
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British Establishment does murder not respect and dignity.
10.11.2008 16:40
The British State murders people in cold blood. Time for change and by any means necessary.
Siobhan
fuk british army
10.11.2008 18:04
bones
Republican terrorists do murder not respect and dignity
11.11.2008 10:36
A previous search for Danny McIlhone 's remains
DNA tests on the remains are being carried out
The family of one of the Disappeared, Danny McIlhone, are awaiting the result of a DNA test carried out on a body found in County Wicklow.
The remains may be those of the west Belfast man who went missing from his home in 1981.
They were found on Saturday during a search on behalf of the commission set up to find the bodies of the so-called Disappeared.
The family said they were hoping and praying for good news.
There have been two unsuccessful searches - in 1999 and 2000 - for Danny McIlhone's remains.
In a statement in 1999, the IRA said Mr McIlhone was not suspected of being an informer but was being questioned about stealing IRA weapons.
It was claimed that he was killed in a struggle with the person who was guarding him.
On Tuesday, Oliver McVeigh, the brother of Columba McVeigh whose remains have never been found, appealed for more information.
"We pray that there is some positive news for the McElhone family, but there is no positive news for our family at the moment.
"It is very traumatic, all the families want is for the people to come forward with the information and get these people a Christian burial.
"The McElhone incident has proved that if the right information comes forward, these experts can find them."
News of the discovery has been welcomed by Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams.
"The apparent discovery of Danny McIlhone's remains will come as a great relief for his family," said Mr Adams.
"It is also evidence that republicans continue to work diligently on this important issue.
"It will also be an encouragement to the other families who are still hoping that the remains of their loved ones will be found."
Alex Attwood, SDLP, said: "The heart of the whole community will go out to the family if these reports prove correct and there will be every understanding and solidarity with the family who may now see the return of their loved one.
"This only confirms that serious questions still continue about the conduct of the IRA in this case of abduction and death and in all the cases of the Disappeared."
Although he went missing in 1981, the IRA did not claim responsibility for Mr McIlhone's death until 1999.
Privacy
"We hope and pray for good news," read a statement released by the McIlhone family on Monday night. "We also ask the media to respect our privacy and stay away from the family."
Tom Brady, security editor with the Irish Independent, said he believed that there should be some confirmation soon.
"They (garda) have been working on this since Saturday. We could have a positive identification reasonably quickly," he said.
"At least it will give some sense of closure to the family."
Mr Brady said there had been ongoing contact between the independent commission for the location of victims' remains and representatives of the Provisional Republican movement which may have helped in locating the remains which were found on Saturday in the Ballynultagh area.
The IRA admitted in 1999 that it murdered and buried nine of the so-called Disappeared - Seamus Wright, Kevin McKee, Jean McConville, Columba McVeigh, Brendan Megraw, John McClory, Brian McKinney, Eamon Molloy and Mr McIlhone - in secret locations.
The bodies of four - Eamon Molloy, Brian McKinney, John McClory and Jean McConville - have been found.
Others who vanished during the Troubles include Gerry Evans, Charles Armstrong, Robert Nairac and Seamus Ruddy, who disappeared in France and whose murder was admitted by the INLA.
Reality Check
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