Nicra founder's concern at Bloody Sunday Report Delay -- Stormont Watch

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Date Posted: Mon, Mar 22 2010, 22:37:42 PDT
Author: Forum Admin.
Subject: Nicra founder's concern at Bloody Sunday Report Delay

CIVIL RIGHTS FOUNDER�S CONCERN AT BLOODY SUNDAY REPORT DELAY

A 1967 co-founder of the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association, Derry-based author and historian Fionnbarra O�Dochartaigh, has publicly expressed fears that an in-coming Conservative government in Britain �Together with MI5 and the top-brass of the British armed forces could well meddle with the final report, particularly as a Conservative government, led by Ted Heath, was in power when civil-rights protesters where gunned down on the streets of Derry while protesting against the imposition of internment without charge or trial, and the then on-going torture of detainees�.

O�Dochartaigh is in the process of putting final touches to an e-book, entitled �Ireland-England�s Vietnam (1960s � 1990s), Writings of a Civil Rights Veteran. It is dedicated to those who were shot dead and wounded on Bloody Sunday, and other victims of what he terms as �The Long War�. It is due to be launched in the next few weeks from the Museum of Free Derry, an event which has been approved by the Bloody Sunday Trust.

His statement comes at a time when the long-awaited report into the British army killings on Bloody Sunday may not be released until after the general
election, the current Labour Government has confirmed.

Northern Ireland Secretary of State Shaun Woodward said
British Government lawyers will this week begin legal checks
of the 5,000-page document for potential national and
personal security issues.

But he added that arrangements had been made for Lord
Saville, who led the public inquiry into how 14 people were
killed by British troops in Derry in 1972, to retain the
report if a publication date cannot be secured before an
election is called.

While bereaved relatives want an early publication of the
report, which took 12 years to compile and cost GBP�200m, Mr
Woodward said in a statement to the Commons that he was
legally obliged to have the checks carried out.

Mr Woodward added: "Once the checking process is complete, a
publication date can be set and the report can be printed.
It is, of course, possible that a general election might be
called in the meantime. Lord Saville has informed me that if
it becomes clear that it will not be possible for the report
to be published in advance of the dissolution of Parliament,
the tribunal will agree to retain custody of the report
until after the general election."

The Secretary of State said relatives of the bereaved and
injured, plus soldiers involved in the inquiry, would be
offered early access to the report on the day of its
eventual release.

"Publication of the report of the Bloody Sunday Inquiry has
been long-awaited and it promises to be a hugely significant
event in Northern Ireland's history," he said.

"But this is also an occasion that will have an enormous
impact on the private lives of ordinary people. I am
determined to ensure that arrangements for publication are
fair and reasonable, and at all times I intend to act
reasonably in recognition of the interests of the families,
soldiers and others involved in the inquiry, and of my
obligations to Parliament."

After the bereaved families expressed concerns that the
report would be handed to government to allow it to carry
out the legal checks, Mr Woodward today confirmed that while
the text is being review, the report will remain under the
control of Lord Saville, while the Counsel to the Inquiry
will be present during the checks.

The Secretary of State said he wanted to publish the report
in full, but said he would remove extracts where advised
necessary to ensure the safety of individuals.

He added: "The report must be published first for this
House, but I acknowledge the importance of this inquiry's
findings in the lives of a large number of individuals and I
have received the consent of the Speaker to facilitate a
period of advance sight on the day of publication to those
most directly affected by the report's contents."

Lord Saville's inquiry was set up in 1998 to re-examine the
events of January 1972, when soldiers from the Parachute
Regiment opened fire on civil rights demonstrators in the
Bogside area of Derry.

It was established after the original Widgery Inquiry in the
wake of the killings was dismissed by the families as a
whitewash.

Mr Woodward said: "I will seek to offer advance sight on the
day of publication to one representative of each of the
families designated as full interested parties to the
inquiry and to their legal representatives, without
distinction between the families of those killed and of
those wounded."

"Equal arrangements for advance sight will be offered to
those soldiers most centrally involved in the subject matter
of the inquiry."

Foyle MP Mark Durkan criticised the Secretary of State's
announcement.

"The Secretary of State's statement will bring new questions
about the likely date of publication given the uncertainty
around the Parliamentary calendar and what time will be
taken by his delegated officials and himself to consider the
Article 2 (right to life) and national security questions -
which he insists he has to satisfy himself on before
publishing the report," he said.

"In Derry recently, he told the media that such
consideration could take 'a few days'. If, he envisages in
today's statement, his delegated officials will have access
to Lord Saville's report this week, then a timetable of 'a
few days' could still lie within the indicative period
remaining for this Parliament prior to dissolution."
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