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MAGINNESS: BLOODY SUNDAY FAMILIES MUST GET TRUTH AND JUSTICE
IN 2009 SDLP Justice spokesman Alban Maginness MLA has said there must be no more delays in the publication of the Saville Report into the events of Bloody Sunday and that the victims families must see the report at the same time as the British Government and their lawyers. The North Belfast Assembly Member, who was on the original march, said the Saville Report will only be measured against a standard of full truth and justice. Addressing the Bloody Sunday March in Derry he said: “I want to pay tribute to the Bloody Sunday Committee who have never given up in their quest for justice in the face of provocation prevarication. “With inspiring determination, they have stood steadfast for full truth and justice and have asked for nothing more. They will accept nothing less and that is the only standard against which the Saville Report will be – or should be – measured. “I was on the march on Bloody Sunday and will never forget the fear on the streets of Derry as the British Army carried out their massacre. “I will never forget the deep shock in the immediate aftermath and in the days and weeks that followed or my utter despair and devastation as I returned to home that night. “Or my absolute disgust as the slaughter of Bloody Sunday was compounded by the travesty of Widgery. “That was a defining time in my life and I know that Bloody Sunday defined many other lives too. “This week again, pain carried from our tragic past resurfaced in the understandable emotion of the Eames/Bradley Report. “We will measure each of the Eames/Bradley recommendations against one standard: does it address the past on the ethical, moral basis required to meet the needs of victims and survivors? “As we look forward, we must always remember that what is “the past” for some is very much “the present” for others. It is the hurt they still try to cope with day after day. The burden they carry, often in loneliness, as they see progress made. The pain they feel as their search for truth and justice continues. “Nowhere is that better understood than here in Derry. For 37 years, the campaign for truth and justice has been unstinting in the face of insult and setback. But the response has always with the same dignity, decency and renewed determination. “Time and again, resolve has been tested, but it will never be defeated. The families have always kept going. And will keep going until the full truth about Bloody Sunday has been told and heard. “We hope and pray that your long campaign is nearing its end. We say unambiguously that there must be no more delays. This must be the year in which the Saville Report is published – and seen first by the families, not just the British Government and their lawyers. “As the campaign continues and the long walk goes on. On behalf of the SDLP, I give our word: we walk with you every step of the way.”
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