Issue 118, Saoirse: Irish Freedom (February, 1997)

              the voice of the republican movemen 50p usa 1 feabhra — february bloody s yet england even as you lie you give the facts that you deny spread the lie with all your power all that's left it's turning sour friend and stranger bride and brother son and sister father mother all not blinded by your smoke photographers who caught your stroke the priests who blessed our bodies spoke and wagged our blood in the world's face the truth will out to your disgrace so wrote the poet thomas kinsella in his poem butcher's dozen which brillantly exposed the british cover-up of the cold blooded murder by its troops of 14 irish citizens in derry on january 30 1972 - bloody sunday - 25 years ago kinsella has written that his poem was a response to the widgery tribunal set up by the british government to whitewash the actions of its troops lord widgery he said coldly put aside the truth of what happened and it was evident to kinsella that we were suddenly very close to the operation of the evil real causes ..." these evil real causes centre around the british government's determination to stay in ireland and to gun down innocent anti internment marchers in the expectation that this would provoke an ira response this in turn was to be used as a justification for british troops invading the west bank of derry including the brandywell bogside and creggan which for the two years before 1972 had been no-go areas free from british rule more and more evidence has been coming out in recent weeks see page 3 which show how well planned the deliberate actions of the british crown forces to kill unarmed marchers on bloody sunday were the only comparisons with this massacre outside of ireland would be the sharpville massacre of 61 south africans in 1960 and the amritsar massacre of april 1919 where british troops killed 500 indians and injured 1 500 it is now known that the first three victims william nash 19 john young 17 and michael mcdaid 20 were killed by british snipers hidden on the city walls overlooking the march channel 4 tv broadcast corraborating evidence of this by a british soldier on january 29 last this was the signal for the paras to attack the protest and to commence firing aimed single shots at the crowd for almost 20 minutes then british prime minister edward heath's correspondence with lord widgery before the tribunal got under way has also come to light in one letter heath reminded widgery that not only was there a military war in ireland but also a propaganda war and that he should bear that in mind in his report britain must be made to account before the world for bloody sunday in derry and the subsequent widgery cover-up and whitewash of british troops actions 25 years ago this british butchery traumatised and enraged irish people at home and around the world the call for a renewed investigation into bloody sunday has been joined by sdlp and leinster house politicians in recent days their concern is that bloody sunday is preventing the reconciliation of nationalist people in the six counties with british rule not reconciliation in ireland but reconciling irish people to british rule republicans do not seek any such thing british rule in ireland is wrong illegal and undemocratic and inevitably provokes resistance by irish people this in turn brings about incidents such as bloody sundays four of which have taken place in ireland in the twentieth century alone sincere honest people maintain that bloody sunday can never happen again the only way to ensure this to get rid of such products of british rule is to end british rule in ireland itself there must be no more bloody sundays resistance y at rtwre m newt b '* jf peocc in ireland until : jt rtwfonsigii.opp'msii'e british pr»»«n i r»mo»»4 uingall the irish peopl <¦- ~ unif c«>rrtmj thairown affair determine their awn dmiinies o a sow — .., peaptft r in mind an«t body para1 nd diaintt ph/wtatly tuhurolly and manmnicady bobby sands 1954-1981 1997 resistance calendar now available 2.50 plus p&p calendar marks 27 years of resistance to british occupation and the 16th anniversary of the 1981 hunger strike special rates for bulk orders contact 223 parnell street dublin 1 . • january 30 1972 barney mcguigan 41 lies dead after being hit in the back of the head by an aimed shot from a british soldier as he crawled towards the body of pat doherty beside the rossville flats derry during the 20th century there have been four bloody sundays in which irish people were massacred by british forces player michael hogan and and pro-british elements i eleven spectators when they opened fire at a football match in croke park dublin sixty spectators were injured • january 30 1972 british • july 10 1921 concerted crown forces killed 14 anti attacks on nationalist areas of internment marchers and belfast by british crown forces • august 31 1913 during the dublin lock-out when british police attacked jim larkin's mass meeting in o'connell street dublin killing one person and injuring more than 400 • november 21 1920 british forces killed one tipperary is people killed 68 seriously injured with 161 nationalist homes burnt out injured thirteen in derry