The 1972 massacre that saw the slaughter of 13 unarmed teenagers and adults in Derry, Ireland by UK army paratroopers shooting at peaceful protesters has at last been exposed. The official report into the event commissioned by Prime Minister Tony Blair in 1998 has finally been published. The Saville Report is as damning an indictment of British army and establishment perfidy as can be imagined. It is a stain on the British army that compares with the Mai Lai massacre.
New Prime Minister David Cameron -- just 5 years old at the time -- has confirmed what intelligent, decent people worldwide have suspected since the first reports surfaced on that dreadful day in January 1972. A day that has been memorialized by iconic songs by U2 and John Lennon.
The Saville Report confirms:
• That British troops opened fire on totally innocent children and adults who were posing zero threat to them
• That those troops and their superiors lied and fabricated evidence - and have continued to do so for the last 38 years.
• That the initial tribunal set up by Conservative Prime Minister Edward Heath in 1972 presided over by Britain's Lord Chief Justice Widgery was a complete whitewash. Designed to cover up the army's foul and despicable deeds. A quickie version of The Warren report.
• That all those killed were INNOCENT of any crime and posed ZERO DANGER to the paratroopers who murdered them in cold blood.
38 years of outright lies and deception by the British army and establishment to cover up the tragic events that plunged Northern Ireland into 30 years of sectarian violence have finally been exposed.
Why did it have to take so long? 38 years for the truth that so many decent people suspected was the case from Day One.
Justice delayed was not only justice denied. But injustice that directly contributed to three decades of violence and over 3,000 tragic deaths.
That soldiers might shoot innocent civilians without warning or any reason is bad enough. But that they should repeatedly lie under oath about their actions and then receive the slavish, knee-jerk defense of their superiors without objective examination makes the entire British Establishment utterly guilty. Gallons of blood are on their hands.
Still to be investigated:
A memorandum written by General Sir Robert Ford -- The Commander of Land Forces in Northern Ireland at the time -- to his superior on January 7th 1972, just 3 weeks before his troops opened fire on the teenage protesters -- without any warning at all. It included the following text:
"I am coming to the conclusion that the minimum force necessary to achieve a restoration of law and order is to shoot selected ringleaders amongst the DYH (Derry Young Hooligans), after clear warnings have been issued..."
A smoking gun that led to the deaths of over 3,000 people. And 30 years of needless anguish.
• "Is there anyone amongst you dare to blame it on the kids?"
- "Sunday Bloody Sunday" by John Lennon (1972)
• "I can't close my eyes and make it go away. How long must we sing this song?"
- "Sunday Bloody Sunday" by U2 (1983)