Bloody Sunday - Widgery Mark II?
By Ned Kelly
Relatives of the people murdered by British paras on Bloody
Sunday in Derry have expressed concern that the `independent'
judicial inquiry headed by Lord Saville will go the same way as
the now discredited Widgery Inquiry.
Peter Madden of Belfast solicitors Madden & Finucane, who is
heading the relatives' legal team, said the families ``will not
take part in the inquiry'' unless their fears are resolved.
These fears centre on a belief that behind the scenes
machinations of the British-led `independent' inquiry will:-
- Limit the legal resources available to relatives. It is
believed that the inquiry team will agree to only one senior
counsel, one junior barrister and one firm of solicitors to
represent the families of the dead and wounded.
- Not enforce full disclosure of government documents.
- Narrow the scope of the inquiry to events on Sunday 30 January
1972.
- Limit the number of expert witnesses. Restricting the number of
independent ballistics experts and pathologists will undermine
attempts to challenge the British version of events.
Speaking to An Phoblacht Tony Doherty, whose father Patrick was
killed 26 years ago, said, ``at this stage the government has not
been completely forthcoming about resources. If this sets the
scene, the imbalance in resources will limit what the victims'
families can do.''
Doherty stressed that ``the British cannot seek to represent both
sides and unless this is addressed the whole exercise will be
useless and can only produce unbalanced findings.''
Restrictions on the legal resources available to the families may
lead to a situation similar to that during the Widgery inquiry
when a tiny legal team had to battle against the resources of the
Ministry of Defence and British civil service.
Released documents should include minutes from Cabinet meetings
on the Tuesday or Wednesday prior to Bloody Sunday.
Fears have also been raised that incomplete disclosure may deny
the families access to medical reports, especially on Bernard
McGuigan, which could support the theory that illegal dum-dum
bullets were used by the paras. Dr Raymond McClean, who took
notes on the post-mortems on the eve of Bloody Sunday, said ``it
is ridiculous not to have independent expert witnesses.'' He added
that ``top grade'' ballistics experts and pathologists were needed
to interpret the complex forensic evidence.
Sinn Fein Chairperson Mitchel McLaughlin said it was vital that
families must be ``able to employ qualified opinion to scrutinise
thoroughly forensic material. It is unrealistic to expect the
families to be able to effectively participate in the inquiry on
the same basis as those who have the full backing of the British
state.''
McLaughlin added that attempts by the British government to
minimise the scope of the inquiry would not only prolong the
distress of the families but also undermine confidence that it
was serious about genuine reconciliation.
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