Launch of Bloody Sunday Inquiry
Waiting for the truth
By Peadar Whelan
In his opening statement launching the Bloody Sunday
Inquiry in Derry last Friday 3 April Lord Saville said,
``Whatever conflicting views are held about the events
of that day, it has become known as Bloody Sunday, so
it seems to us that the inquiry should be called the
Bloody Sunday Inquiry''.
So the massacre which we all know as Bloody Sunday has
now been officially named by the British state; a
belated recognition, almost, that the military
operation launched against civil rights marchers on 30
January 1972 resulted in one of the bloodiest days of
this conflict.
Whether the truth of Bloody Sunday - that everybody has
known for the last 26 years - will come out of this
inquiry is yet to be seen. Instead of being told that
the British government has declared that any evidence
or witnesses that may have a bearing on finding the
truth of Bloody Sunday will be investigated or inquired
into, we were told that we would have to wait and see.
The Tribunal will ``decide what material it should
consider and what witnesses it should call to give
evidence''.
We don't know if, for example, they will call Edward
Heath, the then British prime minister who warned Lord
Widgery after he was appointed to head the first
inquiry into Bloody Sunday that ``we are fighting a
propaganda war'' in Ireland. Or will John Taylor, a
member of the Stormont government of the time, be
called to answer about the decisions of the Joint
Security Council in the days leading up to Bloody
Sunday?
We don't know if those documents held under 50 and 75
year secrecy orders will be open for scrutiny or if
cabinet minutes from Downing Street or Stormont will be
included in the evidence.
We don't know the answers, therefore it raises doubts
about the scope of the Inquiry.
On the plus side Lord Saville, the Inquiry chair, said
that under the Tribunals of Inquiry Act 1921 the
Tribunal had the power to bring people forward to give
evidence or produce documents and the Inquiry team will
invoke this power, ``if the search for truth requires
it''. Let's hope he has the courage to do so.
The other big question was that of immunity. The
inquiry team decided that while serious allegations
concerning the events of Bloody Sunday were made,
including accusations of murder, they considered asking
the Attorney-General for immunity from prosecution for
all witnesses to the inquiry. However, in deferring the
request Lord Saville said he would wait and see whether
granting immunity is necessary for carrying out the
inquiry.
The inquiry proper does not start until the Autumn and
sitting along with English Law Lord Saville are Sir
Edward Somers formerly of the Court of Appeal of New
Zealand and Mr Justice Hoyt, a Canadian judge who is
presently Chief Justice of New Brunswick.
The Inquiry will be held in Derry's Guildhall and while
it will not be permitted to be broadcast by the
electronic media it will be available on the internet
on http://www.bloody-sunday-inquiry.org.uk
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