Remembering the martyrs of Bloody Sunday.

I sympathies with the nationalists too. Apart from anything else, it IS difficult to obey the law and respect the state when your family is being interned, but that doesn’t mean I accept their view of the events on Bloody Sunday. And I’ll defend anyone I choose. I already know the official line and I have also heard the soldiers’ side of the story. They were amongst the army’s most disciplined and highly trained (second only to the SAS). If I really thought they had fired on an unarmed, non-violent crowd I would not defend them at all.

I don’t believe the actions of British forces in NI were always right, the Black and Tans (soldiers returning from the first world war and not suited for a civil role but otherwise unemployable) were a particularly bad episode, as were the B specials.

The situation had been volatile (quite apart from the verbal abuse and being spat upon, the army had had thousands of rounds fired at them and more than a thousand nail bombs thrown at them, they’d recovered hundreds of firearms, including more than 20 machine guns by the end of 1971). There was a lot of violence including punishment beatings, of which the IRA were past masters, by both loyalist and republican sympathisers) and by no means all of it was directed at the army. A ban had been imposed on all marches (including the one on Bloody Sunday) the previous year partly because the Catholics (ironically) had asked for it after becoming fed up with protestant marches. Have you considered your “peaceful unarmed” demonstration in that context?

And as for recent British governments, they are desparate not to derail the peace process and an alternative view of the events might get in the way.

 

You most probably didn't notice......but the IRA did not fire until latter in the day! A fact supported by the enquiry!

But like all other information in these isles....hidden from the people!

Lord Faulkner.....etc!

The 1972 IRA Sunningdale peace offering! The precursor to the Mitchell accord! Word for word!

The Catholics had no right to vote!

No right to equality!

And all sponsored by the UK government!

Regards
Highlander

 

And? I understand that US marines are also highly trained tell that to the victims of the Haditha massacre.

They are highly trained soldiers, not highly trained law enforcement.

No! Northern Ireland in the early seventies was volatile? You don't say.

Which has diddly squat to do with firing on a peaceful protest and makes civilian efforts to peacefully publicise their grievances all the more important.

And that has diddly squat to do with a peaceful protest for civil rights.

And? That marching is banned does not make it violent or armed.

The marchers from Selma to Alabama were ordered to disband and refused. Most people would think they did the right thing. Some might consider it a truly great thing

Gandhis' salt march was illegal. To make your own salt was criminal. Illegal and still the right thing.

In the context of NI where Catholics were politically marginalized and completely excluded from government, I think civil rights marches were perfectly valid. Non violent civil disobedience is almost always valid.

To meet an act of civil disobedience with a hail of bullets is not valid. It is the kind of behavior that is generally condemned as tyrannical.

Ah the poor paratroopers who murdered 13 civilians.

The exhaustive Saville report is unfairly blackening their name.