Bloody Sunday Programme 1999 (fwd)


Elizabeth Platt ([email protected])
Fri, 29 Jan 1999 22:59:59 -0800 (PST)


[Poster's Note: Awright, I had to read all those "U2 and Satanism and
Inverted Crosses" posts while cleaning up my email, so I've got some
big-time Wire karma to cash in tonight. Seeing as January 30th is the
anniversary of the Bloody Sunday massacre in Derry City in 1972, and that
this usually sparks a bit of interest on the list, thought I'd foward
this to you all for your perusal. Just to give you all an idea of what's
being done on a local level in Derry itself, to mark the anniversary. For
those of you in the San Francisco Bay Area, there's a photo exhibit on
Bloody Sunday opening at the SOMAR gallery tomorrow--if anyone wants more
info, email me privately. -- eaplatt]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Thu, 21 Jan 1999 01:13:33 +0000
From: "F. Stuart Ross" <[email protected]>
To: [email protected]
Cc: [email protected]
Subject: Bloody Sunday Programme 1999

                        Bloody Sunday Programme 1999
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Editorial

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.

                             FRIDAY 29TH JANUARY

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 Fein 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

                            SATURDAY 30TH JANUARY

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.

                 STATE VIOLENCE: STATE THE TRUTH CONFERENCE

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, Catriona Ruane: Plenary session involving

   * reports from the workshops
   * proposals for ensuring that the issue remains to the fore in 1999
   * objectives to be pursued

4.00pm-minutes silence in memory of Bloody Sunday victims.

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 stlg2.50.

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 stlg3. Tel: 268027. Also showing at the Melmont
Centre, Strabane, Thursday 28th 8.00pm & Peadar O'Donnells on Sunday 31st
January at 6.30pm

                             SUNDAY 31ST JANUARY

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 Fein, Breandan 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.

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visit the Pat Finucane Centre web site:
http://www.serve.com/pfc

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