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Periscope by Niall O'Dowd

David Cameron shows class on Bloody Sunday apology

Posted on Tuesday, June 15, 2010 at 09:42 PM

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The admission by British Prime Minister David Cameron that those killed on Bloody Sunday were innocent of any crime is an extraordinary statement.

It is even more significant than Tony Blair's apology about the Irish Famine and Britain's role in it.

It speaks very well of Cameron, especially as he is a Tory leader, and that party has been very slow to admit any culpability in the past on issues relating to the conduct of British forces in Northern Ireland during the Troubles.

The sight of nationalists in Derry applauding and cheering Cameron's remarks must have made heads spin at the incongruity of it all.

The pity is that Edward Heath the Prime Minister of the day on Bloody Sunday and the Widgery Inquiry that whitewashed the killings did not use the words that Cameron used on Tuesday.

If they had the history of Northern Ireland would have been completely different.

The Bloody Sunday massacre and the cover up were the birthing pangs of the IRA.
That event and internment without trial that preceded it were the midwives of the IRA.

After those killings and the cover up the civil rights movement disappeared effectively replaced by violence in an attempt to get the British Army out.

Remember the British Embassy in Dublin was torched to the ground after Bloody Sunday as the reaction in the Irish Republic was every bit as violent as in Northern Ireland.

The police in Dublin let the embassy burn as they knew if they tried to stop it they would be attacked.

There were mass demonstrations in the U.S. Everywhere Irish blood was up.

Nationalists would never trust the British state again, yet remarkably a year or so earlier they had welcomed British troops into Northern Ireland as their saviors against the Unionist government intent on keeping them down by whatever means possible.

That ended forever that sunny but cold January day back in 1972. What followed was a quarter century of violence, much of which might never have happened if Bloody Sunday had not occurred.

At last a British Prime Minister has set the record straight.

It is better late than never

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bigd57irish | Jun 17, 2010, 02:40 AM EDT

I also think that Jenifer Aniston NOT in the nude is a BLOODY SHAME!!

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bigd57irish | Jun 17, 2010, 02:39 AM EDT

I think I'll be coming over there for the Notre Dame-Navy football game in 2011. That's FOOTBALL as in American FOOTBALL

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conchobhar | Jun 17, 2010, 02:31 AM EDT

Fair play to David Cameron, even if it is pushing forty years on, and the evidence had become overwhelming. Now, if he allows a full inquest into the Pat Finucane murder, he'll really have shown some courage. My deepest respect to the families of the slain, who never gave up in their fight for justice.

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connorj | Jun 16, 2010, 11:43 PM EDT

Wonderful!

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seanomelbourne | Jun 16, 2010, 11:05 PM EDT

When you are eventually caught with your hand in the cookie jar you just have to say your sorry. British conservatives have always touted their anti-Irish imperialist rhetoric. They have never been friends of the Irish. It's not the Dail that should apologise for the 1974 bombing but the British and their terrorist unionist friends in N.E. Ireland

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MalcomAC | Jun 16, 2010, 11:04 PM EDT

Yes, I must give Cameron his due for saying this.

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zoeyue82 | Jun 16, 2010, 10:51 PM EDT

drf

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WoundedKnee | Jun 16, 2010, 06:52 PM EDT

Fair Play to Cameron--I always prefer English Conservatives to Labour in these matters. Now if we could only get Fine Gael and Labor in Ireland to apologize for covering up things like the Dublin Bombings which killed about 30 people in 1974 or the murder of Seamus Ludlow by British agents on the southern side of the border.

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patrickclw | Jun 16, 2010, 06:32 PM EDT

Possibly everyone has said it - but the speech by David Cameron was indeed a new beginning in the attitude of British politicians to self analysis - Should it not be appropriate to bombard the Israeli media with the facts of Saville and Prime Minister's statement and lets see if they can do the same in relation to the Israeli forces activities where questionable .

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slainte39 | Jun 16, 2010, 04:13 PM EDT

I agree that the preponderance-maybe more-lies at the feet of the British government and their ilk (supporters) for the bloodshed, but wrongdoing is never 50/50 and someone has give up more than the other to get things right and a compromise. The stain on their(UK)credibility will not be erased by comparing their actions against the IRA. I think right now, in the purview of history, the nationalists hold the higher ground for past deeds committed and the road to peace as opposed to the UK government/loyalist alliance. The power and resources were so lopsided in favor one side that it is a miracle that we have arrived at the point we are now. It was truly a David and Goliath struggle. When the weaker party achieves anything in a political struggle, it usually means they had greater moral authority from the outset. Justice is hard to come by, even in a democratic society. Serving with distinction is no trade-off for denying civil rights.

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jacersisityourself | Jun 16, 2010, 02:45 PM EDT

Over the past day or so it has been galling to hear ex-Paras on TV trumpet that they and the British Army have served with distinction despite their awful deeds of Bloody Sunday. Don’t they remember the massive Jallianwala Bagh Massacre of unarmed men, women and children in India in 1919? I deplore Unionist politicians calling for apologies from the Republicans who killed innocent people – why? Because the IRA and such like over the years have always admitted and sometimes apologised for the loss of innocent lives during their campaigns. Not that that is alright, they should never have done those awful deeds anymore than the Paras did on Bloody Sunday. The Paras of Bloody Sunday never once admitted they opened fire indiscriminately or apologised for that: that’s the difference.

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jacersisityourself | Jun 16, 2010, 02:29 PM EDT

As one who well remembers watching the horror of that awful day on the evening’s TV news and how the masses Irish people all over Ireland attended midweek Masses in memory of and in solidarity with the innocent people killed, and that indescribably dishonest Widgery Report, I am delighted for the families of those who died in this report’s conclusions. I am also appreciative that at last someone like Cameron has the courage to publicly admit the wrongs.

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hancock | Jun 16, 2010, 02:13 PM EDT

Maybe the English should apologize for starting the whole thing to begin with.

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slainte39 | Jun 16, 2010, 01:53 PM EDT

In defense of Niall--the conservatives had been slow on acting or speaking in a conciliatory tone until now. Kudos to David Cameron. Niall forgets that a conservative in the UK is about equal to moderate liberal in his present abode, the US, these days. Being an avowed nationalist, I agree that Adams and McGuinness should speak out with contriteness now, to help close the book. The IRA and the loyalist paramilitarys speak for themselves by their sordid past acts and should not be mentioned in the same context as the new enlighted leaders in the North are. Hats off to Paisley, Adams, McGinness, Robinson, and now Cameron. This is true compromise and rebirth with sanity restored.

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moygannon | Jun 16, 2010, 01:10 PM EDT

All that is neededd now is for the terrorists to admit their crimes and atonement will commence.

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