Written Answers. - Bloody Sunday Inquiry.
Trevor Sargent
Ceist:
19
Mr. Sargent
asked the
Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs
whether he intends to raise the issue of the new evidence regarding the Bloody Sunday killings and the Widgery tribunal with the British Prime Minister.
[2193/97]
Michael McDowell
Ceist:
28
Mr. M. McDowell
asked the
Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs
the steps, if any, the Government proposes to take in view of the latest evidence available to have the findings of the discredited Widgery tribunal relating to the events of Bloody Sunday in Derry set aside; the further steps, if any, he will take to have the true facts established and acknowledged and a full and unreserved apology forwarded to the families of the victims by the British Government.
[3340/97]
Liam Fitzgerald
Ceist:
33
Mr. L. Fitzgerald
asked the
Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs
if he will call on the British Government to make an unequivocal declaration that all the victims of Bloody Sunday were innocent in view of the publication (details supplied) of in excess of 700 statements gathered by the Civil Rights Association and the National Council for Civil Liberties, in relation to the tragic events of this day, resulting in 13 massacres; if he will further call for an acceptance of responsibility and an apology for the awful events of that date; if he will further call on the British Government to compensate the families for their loss and the subsequent distress; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[2854/97]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 19, 28 and 33 together.
Successive Governments have considered the findings of the Widgery tribunal in relation to Bloody Sunday to be profoundly unsatisfactory and the matter has been raised by them with the British Government. Central to our concern over the years has been the failure of the British authorities to adequately respond to the demand of the relatives of the 14 people who died that their innocence be unequivocally recognised. When I met the relatives in 1994 I was impressed by their focus on the need to remove once and for all the slur that the Widgery report left on the memory of their loved ones. There was no desire to relieve the anger of the past and indeed relatives of those who died have made clear that they do not wish their loss to be used in any way which might delay the advent of wider peace and reconciliation on these islands.
The re-evaluation of the evidence which coincides with the 25th anniversary of this atrocity has prompted a number of additional concerns regarding the Widgery tribunal's proceedings and conclusions. It has also, as Bishop Edward Daly among others has pointed out, caused people to relieve the events of that day and perhaps recall in a newly heightened way serious concerns which they had at the time about the treatment of the evidence. Accounts of firing from Derry's walls onto the marchers below raise the most serious questions about the British Army's activity on Bloody Sunday. So do the discrepancies which have apparently emerged between what British soldiers involved in the shootings first told investigators and what they later told the Widgery tribunal. The fact that the tribunal heard only a very small amount of the evidence which was available is also a cause of serious concern.
That the Irish people as a whole continue to feel strongly about the events of Bloody Sunday is evident in the strong media and other interest in the anniversary. The people of Derry showed their feelings in the biggest ever anniversary march last Sunday. However, perhaps even more significant is the support which has emerged for a fresh look at the events of Bloody Sunday from Unionist and British sources. The cross-party support for a new inquiry at Westminister demonstrated in an early-day motion tabled for the anniversary and the comments of Mr. Ken Maginnis, MP, and others from the Unionist tradition offer welcome support for the efforts to achieve full justice to the memory of those who died and bring some solace to their relatives after all these years. As theBelfast News Letter put it in an editorial on 3 February 1996: “An apology is long overdue and there would be no better time for it. Perhaps then the ghosts of Bloody Sunday will finally be allowed to rest in peace”.
In 1974 the British Government made payments on anex gratia basis to the relatives of those who died on Bloody Sunday. In 1992 the British Prime Minister, Mr. John Major, MP, expanded on an earlier British Government statement by stating that those who were killed on Bloody Sunday should be regarded as innocent of any allegation that they were shot while handling firearms or explosives. This went some small way towards redressing the wrong done by the Widgery tribunal. However, the British Government needs to go much further in confirming the complete innocence of the deceased.
I am concerned that the immediate reaction of the British Government to the re-evaluation surrounding the anniversary has been to deny the need either for a fresh look at the events of Bloody Sunday or for an apology to the relatives of the victims. The British Prime Minister did indicate in the House of Commons on 30 January 1997 that new evidence would be examined but offered little encouragement, in response to Mr. John Hume's question, that his Government would take a proactive role in this regard. I regret this because I believe that the British Government which finally acknowledges in an unreserved way the wrong done on Bloody Sunday will make a significant contribution to the cause of peace in Northern Ireland and reconciliation throughout these islands.
Both the Taoiseach and I have urged the British Government to take an initiative in this regard in recent days. The Taoiseach spoke about the matter to the British Prime Minister in a telephone conversation. I will be discussing the re-evaluation of the Bloody Sunday evidence with the Secretary of State, Sir Patrick Mayhew, when I meet him later today. I will suggest to him that it is open to the British Government to address the concerns of the relatives by taking a fresh look at the evidence in a variety of ways. A full new inquiry may not be essential to set aside the discredited findings of the Widgery tribunal. It might suffice to appoint an eminent person to review the evidence and recommend action by the British Government but whatever is required to bring peace to the relatives and honour the memory of the dead of Bloody Sunday should be done without further delay. I assure the Deputies that I will pursue this matter within the framework of the Anglo-Irish Intergovernmental Conference.
