Bloody Sunday families told only one prosecution to go ahead

Posted by Jim on March 14, 2019

Families of the victims have been left angry and upset after Crown
Prosecutors claimed today there is sufficient evidence to prosecute
only one one the seventeen soldiers known to have been involved in the
Bloody Sunday massacre.

Fourteen people, half of them teenage boys, were taking part in a civil
rights march in Derry when they were shot dead by British paratroopers
on January 30, 1972. A further 22 innocent civilians were injured.

Many of the families who emerged from this morning’s meeting with the
prosecutors were visibly upset.

Earlier the relatives of those killed on Bloody Sunday gathered at the
memorial in the Bogside to walk together to the city centre, where the
meeting took place. They carried before them placards bearing the names
and faces of their loved ones, and a single word: Justice.

Nine years ago, they made that same walk ahead of the publication of the
Saville Report, which found none of the victims had posed a threat when
they were shot.  British Prime Minister David Cameron then issued a
famous apology for the slaughter.

While some families backed away from campaigning at that point, others
continued the annual march for justice. A breakthrough finally came when
a murder investigation was launched in 2012.

John Kelly is among the majority of families who wanted to see all of
the soldiers involved in shootings prosecuted.

“My view is they are all guilty of murder,” says Kelly. “Any soldier who
fired a shot that day should be charged with murder.”

He added: “It’s not just about Bloody Sunday, it’s about all the other
killings. If they can get away with Bloody Sunday, they can get away
with anything.”

British army veterans’ representatives and many MPs had been lobbying
for a complete amnesty for the British military in Ireland. Last week,
British Direct Ruler Karen Bradley said any killing carried out by a
British soldier in the north of Ireland is “not a crime”. She later
withdrew the remark.

Amid immense media attention, it ha been confirmed that only one former
paratrooper – soldier F – is to be charged with two murders and four
attempted murders.

Kate Nash, who lost her brother William on Bloody Sunday, said her
stomach had been “in knots” waiting for today’s news on prosecutions.
She has dedicated her entire life to being a voice for her brother and
says the families “just want justice”.

“I hear politicians talking about jailing this one and that one, but not
soldiers, because they shouldn’t have to face that. What makes them
special that they shouldn’t have to face it?”