The Bloody Sunday Trust has released details of this year's programme of events to mark the 41st anniversary of Bloody Sunday. In accordance with the wishes of the vast majority of Bloody Sunday Families, the Trust and the Bloody Sunday Weekend Committee have organised a range of events that will take place over two weekends at the end of January.
Almost three years on from the Saville Inquiry the question of British soldiers being prosecuted for murder and perjury is finally being addressed. We hope, and demand, that those responsible for finally investigating Bloody Sunday for the crime that it was do so with the utmost vigour, and use the full powers available to them to ensure that all those should face justice finally do so. There should be no more hiding place for those who carried out murder on our streets and lied about it afterwards. The time has come for them to answer for their actions.
It is also an appropriate time to reflect on what we have achieved so far, with the vindication of our decades long campaign to bring the truth to light, and offer our full support to others who are fighting for the same. It is only a few weeks since the British government was forced to admit further complicity in crimes committed against the people here, and even after the revelations of the de Silva report we can still only guess at the extent of British government involvement in killing Irish people. So while we take this opportunity to call for justice in our case, we also extend that call to cover all of the other cases where there are families awaiting truth and justice. This is reflected in the panel discussion, ‘No Overarching Conspiracy’ on Saturday 26 January.
We also remain conscious of how similar events have happened across the world, where states and armies have killed without censure or fear of prosecution, and continue to do so, with the recent Israeli invasion of Gaza being a prime and horrific example. This year’s lecture, by noted historian Ilan Pappé, will specifically address ongoing and historic issues in Palestine.
Finally, we would like to call on the people of Derry and beyond to come out and support this year’s programme of events as you have done in the past – your support was vital to us throughout our long campaign, and remains vital as we take what we hope are the last steps in that long journey.
The programme is as follows:
Wednesday 16 January
11.00am -
Launch of commemorative Black Ribbon by Mayor Kevin Campbell in the Museum of Free Derry.
Thursday 24th January
Book launch, 1.00pm, Museum of Free Derry
Free Derry: Protest and Resistance
The story of how residents of a working-class community, oppressed by a sectarian Unionist government since the 1920s, decided to take control of their own destiny and took to the streets to demand change. It tells of how their peaceful protests in the late 1960s were met with brutal force and how this led ultimately to the longest and most violent period in the protracted history of conflict between Ireland and Britain.
A joint publication between Guildhall Press and the Museum of Free Derry.
Saturday 26th January
7.30pm - City Hotel
No Overarching Conspiracy?
Collusion, yes, but no evidence of an ‘overarching conspiracy’ according to the de Silva Review into the murder of Pat Finucane. How does the evidence stack up over the years? This will be the first public discussion involving members of the Finucane family since the Review was published. John Finucane will be joined by Andree Murphy of Relatives for Justice, Professor Bill Rolston of the Transitional Justice Institute and Paul O’Connor of the PFC. This key event will look at just who knew what and when. Was the British Government oblivious to the actions of its own security forces and their links to loyalist paramilitaries? The available evidence would definitely suggest otherwise.
Organised in conjunction with the Pat Finucane Centre and Relatives for Justice.
Sunday 27th January
11.00am — Wreath-laying Ceremony and Prayer Service at the Bloody Sunday Memorial in Rossville Street. All welcome.
Tuesday 29 January
10.00pm — Celtic Bar Bloody Sunday Memorial Shield: Quiz. Teams of 5, entry fee £10 per team. All welcome.
Wednesday 30th January
4.00pm — Minutes Silence at the Bloody Sunday Memorial in Rossville Street. All welcome.
Wednesday 30th January
7.30pm — Annual Memorial Mass at St Mary's Church Creggan. All welcome.
Friday 1st February
8.00pm — Venue Foyle Drama Theatre, Foyle Building (new extension) North West Regional College, Strand Rd (limited seating-doors open 7.45)
Annual Bloody Sunday Memorial Lecture
The annual lecture will be delivered this year by Ilan Pappé, Professor of History, Director of the European Centre for Palestine Studies and Co-Director for the Exeter Centre for Ethno-Political Studies. Professor Pappé is an Israeli historian, socialist activist and former Israeli soldier who has been rewriting the ‘official’ history of Israel's creation in 1948 and expulsion or flight of 700,000 Palestinians in the same year. He has published a number of works on the history of Palestine and Israel including The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine (2006), A History of Modern Palestine: One Land, Two Peoples (2003) and Britain and the Arab-Israeli Conflict (1988). He taught in Israel until 2006, when he was forced to leave his university job because of his political support for the Palestinian people.
Organised in conjunction with the Pat Finucane Centre