On this, the twenty-seventh Anniversary of Bloody Sunday, campaigners and supporters are faced with a new set of challenges. The past year has seen tremendous advances in the pursuit of truth and justice but the need for vigilance remains. It is vital that the deliberations of the Saville Inquiry are closely monitored to ensure there is no repeat of the Widgery whitewash. The Saville Inquiry can only contribute to the resolution of Bloody Sunday by uncovering the whole truth concerning the planning, execution and cover-up of the military operation of January 1972.
The path that the Bloody Sunday campaigners have trodden has been a difficult one. Shunned, ridiculed and criticised for many years, they remained committed to truth and justice. It is never an easy task to challenge the might of a political establishment, and those who have sought to expose the wrong-doings of governments world-wide know only too well that the state can bring to bear enormous pressure, ranging from character assassination to physical assassination. State violence and state repression are the standard responses of most regimes faced with opposition.
In the North of Ireland, over the past thirty years of conflict, almost four hundred men, women and children have been killed in highly controversial circumstances by the British Army and the RUC. Countless others have died as a result of collusion between loyalist death squads and the various branches of the British establishment.
These are the forgotten, the obliterated, the people whose deaths are considered of no importance. The families and friends of the Bloody Sunday dead have experienced the trauma of official neglect, disinformation and hostility, and, while they seek justice for their own loved ones, they are totally committed to the pursuit of justice for the other victims of state violence in this society.
As we move towards a long overdue examination of the causes of our conflict, it is essential that all sides, nationalist/republican, unionist/loyalist and British, acknowledge their roles as combatants. The search for lasting peace is not helped by attempts to absolve the forces of the state of any responsibility for violence. Such attempts can only sow the seeds of future discord and impede the necessary process of healing.
Only when all the victims are afforded equal acknowledgment can we hope to move forwards together. For all the victims of state violence, as for the victims of Bloody Sunday, the time has come to STATE THE TRUTH.
The Guildhall
8.00pm: The Annual Bloody Sunday Commemorative Lecture. Speaker- Micheal Farrell, author of "The Orange State", "Arming the Protestants" & Chairperson of the Irish Council of Civil Liberties.
To be followed by a panel discussion "From Civil Rights to Human Rights" examining the potential of the Belfast Agreement to deliver on the Human Rights agenda. Chair, Angela Hegarty, Bloody Sunday Trust: Panelists, Dara O'Hagan, Sinn Féin Assembly member, Chris McGimpsey, Ulster Unionist Party, Alex Attwood, SDLP Assembly member and Sammy Douglas, East Belfast Development Partnership.
Admission by Donation
Sandinos Bar
10.30- till late: music by Cruncher O'Neill.
Admission by Donation
Pilots Row, Rossville St.
Creche Available 10.30- 5.00pm
10.30am. Alternative tour of Derry led by Assembly member Mary Nelis. Departs Pilots Row, Main Door.
11.00am- 5.00pm: Photographic Exhibition: "The Cost of State Violence" A photographic exhibition chronicling the personal cost of state violence for friends and relatives of these forgotten victims.
11.00am- 5.00pm: Bloody Sunday footage/documentary screenings. Committee Room
12.30am- 5.00pm: State Violence on Camera. Minor Hall
Screenings of video documentaries and footage highlighting the various aspects of State Violence in the 6. Co.s.
10.45am:Introduction looking at how and why the issue of state violence can be addressed. Open to the general public. Chair Don Mullan. Speakers: John Kelly, Bloody Sunday Campaign, Eilish McCabe, Relatives for Justice, Paul O'Connor, Pat Finucane Centre, P. MacDermott, Solicitor.
11.15-12.15: SHARED EXPERIENCES
Workshops examining the experiences of the victims of State Violence and looking at the history of different campaigns and family groups and the lessons that can be shared.
12.15- 1.45: LUNCH: available in Pilots row
12.30 Book Signing by Raymond Murray, author of "State Violence: Northern Ireland 1969- 1997"
1.00-1.30pm. Bloody Sunday Tour-conducted by Don Mullan. Departs Pilots Row, Main Door
1.45pm- 3.45pm SHARED FUTURES
Chair, Catríona Ruane: Plenary session involving
Followed by THE BLOODY SUNDAY UPDATE: Briefing and Q&A on the latest developments concerning the Saville Inquiry & the continuing search for truth and justice. Chair: Charles McGuigan, Bloody Sunday Families, Peter Madden, Madden & Finucane Solicitors and Gregory McCartney, McCartney & Casey Solicitors
Pilots Row
8.00pm: The Right to Truth: Acknowledging the Past. Chair Dave Duggan, Panelists: Speaker from Justice for the Forgotten/Dublin Monaghan Cttee. Bill Rolston, academic and author of " Turning the Page Without Closing the Book." Jeremy Corbyn, Labour MP, Rev. S. Kingsnorth, Warrington Ireland Reconciliation Enterprise. Presentations and Q&A examining the need, in a conflict resolution situation, to acknowledge the experiences of all the victims of the conflict and how this can contribute to the healing process.
Bloody Sunday Fundraising Event
Henry Joy McCrackens, Magazine St.
9.30pm-till late Music by The Whole Tribe Sings, Cruncher O'Neill and People of No Property. Admission £2.50.
Pilots Row: 10.00pm
"Rat in the Skull" by Ron Hutchinson. The story of an interrogation that mixes humour and reality to provide a dynamic and vibrant commentary on the northern conflict. Admission £3. Tel: 268027. Also showing at the Melmont Centre, Strabane, Thursday 28th 8.00pm & Peadar O'Donnells on Sunday 31st January at 6.30pm
11.00am: Bloody Sunday Monument, Rossville St. Wreath laying ceremony, memorial service and prayers. Everyone welcome.
2.30pm: March Assembly, Central Drive, Creggan. Speakers: Tony Doherty, The Bloody Sunday Relatives, Martin Ferris, Sinn Féin, Breandán MacCionnaith, Garvaghy Rd. Residents Group, Alice O'Brien, Justice for the Forgotten/Dublin Monaghan Cttee & a speaker from the SDLP. Chair Liam Wray, Bloody Sunday Relatives.
Sandinos, Soup, sandwiches after the rally. Music provided by Devil's Advocates, New York.