Bloody Sunday - 50th anniversary

[Antifa Hibs]

https://youtu.be/xLMlY56sahI


Along Glenshane and Foreglen

and the cold woods of Hillhead:

A wet wind in the hedges and a dark cloud on the mountain,

And flags like black frost

mourning that the thirteen men were dead.

The Roe wept at Dungiven and the Foyle cried out to heaven,

Burntollet’s old wound opened and again the Bogside bled;

By Shipquay Gate I shivered and by Lone Moor I enquired

Where I might find the coffins where the thirteen men lay dead.

My heart besieged by anger, my mind a gap of danger.

I walked among their old haunts.

the home ground where they bled;

And in the dirt lay justice like an acorn in the winter.

Till its oak would sprout in Derry

where the thirteen men lay dead.


Incredible grit, determination and spirit shown by the families and the city of Derry in their fight for justice. Even more incredible that no-one was ever brought to justice.

[Pretty Boy]

I visited the Museum of Free Derry a few years back. Really interesting and moving experience. One thing that always sticks in my mind is the exhibit of a letter one of the UVF batallions sent to one of the victims families mocking them and him. Not in an insincere sympathy way but outright mocking stating they were happy he was dead and calling him a 'terrorist' and a 'fenian ****'. Someone posted an image of the letter on Twitter the other day and it's as shocking to me now as it was then.

The massacres in both Derry and Ballymurphy can be viewed as genuinely pivotal moments in Irish history. They both removed any notion the British army was in Northern Ireland as neutral peacekeepers. It allowed them to be portrayed, to some extent accurately, as a hostile invading force and pushed previously moderate people into supporting a violent struggle they previously rejected.

[Keith_M]

If the troops deployed that day had behaved correctly, and didn't just start shooting randomly without any apparent concern over who was on the receiving end, it's entirely possible the thirty years of The Troubles might not have played out as they did.

That seemed to be when the touch paper was lit.

[ErinGoBraghHFC]

The Bogside, Hillsborough, Ballymurphy... The British state has always protected their own unfortunately, it's an absolute disgrace no one has been brought to justice for Bloody Sunday even 50 years on.

[The Harp Awakes]

The Bogside, Hillsborough, Ballymurphy... The British state has always protected their own unfortunately, it's an absolute disgra no one has been brought to justice for Bloody Sunday even 50 years on.

:agree:

The anniversary went pretty much uncovered by the mainstream British media. Says it all. The Union flag is not known as the butcher's apron for nothing.

[ErinGoBraghHFC]

:agree:

The anniversary went pretty much uncovered by the mainstream British media. Says it all. The Union flag is not known as the butcher's apron for nothing.

Yep, there was a 10 min interview on LBC with a journalist from Dublin (Dublin!! Not even Derry FFS!) and then the host (can't remember who it was exactly) went straight back to the original topic of why people aren't having bairns until they're 30 nowadays... Nothing like the big issue I suppose

[Carheenlea]

I visited the Museum of Free Derry a few years back. Really interesting and moving experience. One thing that always sticks in my mind is the exhibit of a letter one of the UVF batallions sent to one of the victims families mocking them and him. Not in an insincere sympathy way but outright mocking stating they were happy he was dead and calling him a 'terrorist' and a 'fenian ****'. Someone posted an image of the letter on Twitter the other day and it's as shocking to me now as it was then.

The massacres in both Derry and Ballymurphy can be viewed as genuinely pivotal moments in Irish history. They both removed any notion the British army was in Northern Ireland as neutral peacekeepers. It allowed them to be portrayed, to some extent accurately, as a hostile invading force and pushed previously moderate people into supporting a violent struggle they previously rejected.

I’ve visited Derry a few times now and as you say the Museum of Free Derry is a moving experience. The tone felt like one of reflection, but then again I wasn’t really sure what to expect.

One of the museum volunteers who welcomed us was John Kelly, whose brother Michael was killed on Bloody Sunday aged just 17, and while we were visiting he also presented a talk upstairs in the museum reflecting back to the fateful day as part of a “children of the troubles” exhibition.

Listening to first hand accounts from people who were actually present on Bloody Sunday just made the visit that bit more powerful.

[Pagan Hibernia]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-60287855

[ronaldo7]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-60287855

Absolutely disgusting behaviour from the British state, but then again, that's how they operate.

"The report finds that 11 murdered citizens and their families were systemically failed by the British state in life and in death.

"It is a damning report that is undiluted evidence of the policy of collusion as it was practiced in south Belfast, and across the north."

An escalation of loyalist violence in the early 1990s led the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) - the police force of Northern Ireland at the time - to expand its network of informants within the south Belfast UDA.

But some of them "were actively participating in serious criminality, including murder".

"This was totally unacceptable and an illustration of how, on occasion, the interests of obtaining information from informants was given precedence over protection of the public from paramilitary crime and murder," Ms Anderson said.

[degenerated]

Absolutely disgusting behaviour from the British state, but then again, that's how they operate.

"The report finds that 11 murdered citizens and their families were systemically failed by the British state in life and in death.

"It is a damning report that is undiluted evidence of the policy of collusion as it was practiced in south Belfast, and across the north."

An escalation of loyalist violence in the early 1990s led the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) - the police force of Northern Ireland at the time - to expand its network of informants within the south Belfast UDA.

But some of them "were actively participating in serious criminality, including murder".

"This was totally unacceptable and an illustration of how, on occasion, the interests of obtaining information from informants was given precedence over protection of the public from paramilitary crime and murder," Ms Anderson said.That BBC seems to have omitted one of the other shocking bits of that sorry tale, which is odd given it was panorama that exposed it years ago.
One of the weapons used was from a shipment from South Africa to loyalist paramilaries which was suspected to have been arranged by British intelligence agents. It was later seized as part of the investigation into the shooting. The RUC claimed they had destroyed it but it had been sent to England and put on display at the imperial war museum.

[ronaldo7]

That BBC seems to have omitted one of the other shocking bits of that sorry tale, which is odd given it was panorama that exposed it years ago.
One of the weapons used was from a shipment from South Africa to loyalist paramilaries which was suspected to have been arranged by British intelligence agents. It was later seized as part of the investigation into the shooting. The RUC claimed they had destroyed it but it had been sent to England and put on display at the imperial war museum.

It was also suspected to have been used in another 2 unsolved murders.

A 15yr old boy murdered in the betting shop incident.

Despicable.

[Hibernia&Alba]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-60287855

The full story of collusion between state agencies and Loyalist paramilitaries will take decades to come to light. It is too close to events for the full story to be properly investigated or even allowed to come to light. There are numerous examples of collusion between the now disbanded B-Specials and UDR, but the role of the RUC and other army regiments in Loyalist atrocities will take many years to reveal. Bloody Sunday is evidence of what the army was capable of themselves, but their role (and the role of other state agencies) in colluding with paramilitaries is far more insidious; a dirty war which created many innocent victims.

[JimBHibees]

Absolutely disgusting behaviour from the British state, but then again, that's how they operate.

"The report finds that 11 murdered citizens and their families were systemically failed by the British state in life and in death.

"It is a damning report that is undiluted evidence of the policy of collusion as it was practiced in south Belfast, and across the north."

An escalation of loyalist violence in the early 1990s led the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) - the police force of Northern Ireland at the time - to expand its network of informants within the south Belfast UDA.

But some of them "were actively participating in serious criminality, including murder".

"This was totally unacceptable and an illustration of how, on occasion, the interests of obtaining information from informants was given precedence over protection of the public from paramilitary crime and murder," Ms Anderson said.

Interesting the BBC focus on the police rather than the wider intelligence infrastructure

[Pagan Hibernia]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-61386223