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Man, 66, Is Arrested in Connection With ‘Bloody Sunday’ Massacre Man, 66, Is Arrested in Connection With Bloody Sunday Massacre
(about 1 hour later)
LONDON — The police in Northern Ireland arrested a 66-year-old man on Tuesday in connection with Bloody Sunday, the infamous massacre of unarmed civilian marchers by British soldiers on Jan. 30, 1972.LONDON — The police in Northern Ireland arrested a 66-year-old man on Tuesday in connection with Bloody Sunday, the infamous massacre of unarmed civilian marchers by British soldiers on Jan. 30, 1972.
The suspect, whom the authorities did not identify, was arrested in County Antrim and taken to a police station in Belfast for questioning.The suspect, whom the authorities did not identify, was arrested in County Antrim and taken to a police station in Belfast for questioning.
In a statement, the police quoted the officer leading the investigation, Detective Chief Inspector Ian Harrison, as saying that “today’s arrest marked a new phase in the overall investigation which would continue for some time.”In a statement, the police quoted the officer leading the investigation, Detective Chief Inspector Ian Harrison, as saying that “today’s arrest marked a new phase in the overall investigation which would continue for some time.”
The BBC, citing unnamed officials, identified the man as a former soldier in a parachute regiment and reported that it was the first arrest in relation to the massacre, which occurred in Londonderry, Northern Ireland. The BBC, citing unnamed officials, identified the man as a former soldier in a parachute regiment and reported that it was the first arrest in relation to the massacre, which occurred in Londonderry, Northern Ireland. Thirteen men were killed at the time, and a 14th victim died months later.
The massacre was a low point in the Troubles, the sectarian struggle over the status of Northern Ireland that claimed 3,600 lives and stretched over decades.The massacre was a low point in the Troubles, the sectarian struggle over the status of Northern Ireland that claimed 3,600 lives and stretched over decades.
The Troubles ended with the 1998 Good Friday agreement, under which paramilitary groups like the Provisional Irish Republican Army agreed to put down their arms and the governments of Britain and Ireland, along with the major political parties in Northern Ireland, agreed on a complex set of power-sharing arrangements for the British territory. The Troubles largely ended with the 1998 Good Friday agreement, under which paramilitary groups like the Provisional Irish Republican Army agreed to put down their arms and the governments of Britain and Ireland, along with the major political parties in Northern Ireland, agreed on a complex set of power-sharing arrangements for the British territory.
In 2010, after a $283 million investigation, a government inquiry led by an eminent jurist, Lord Saville, found that “a serious and widespread loss of fire discipline” had allowed the massacre to take place. In 2010, after a 12-year, $283 million investigation, a government inquiry led by an eminent jurist, Lord Saville, found that “a serious and widespread loss of fire discipline” had allowed the massacre to take place.
The report completely exonerated the victims, concluding that the soldiers had fired the first shot and gave no warning before opening fire. Some of those killed or wounded, the report found, were clearly either fleeing or trying to help other victims. Thirteen men were killed at the time, and a 14th victim died months later. The report, which exceeded 5,000 pages across 10 volumes, completely exonerated the victims, concluding that the soldiers had fired the first shot and had given no warning before opening fire. Some of those killed or wounded, the report found, were clearly either fleeing or trying to help other victims.
“What happened on Bloody Sunday strengthened the Provisional I.R.A., increased nationalist resentment and hostility toward the Army and exacerbated the violent conflict of the years that followed,” the commission found. “Bloody Sunday was a tragedy for the bereaved and the wounded, and a catastrophe for the people of Northern Ireland.” The report refuted the findings of an earlier inquiry, conducted immediately after the massacre, that had largely exonerated the Army and attributed the killings to armed protesters who it said had provoked the attack. That earlier inquiry has come to be seen as a whitewash.
In response that year, Prime Minister David Cameron apologized for the massacre, and the next year, the government agreed to a plan to compensate families of the victims. “What happened on Bloody Sunday strengthened the Provisional I.R.A., increased nationalist resentment and hostility toward the Army and exacerbated the violent conflict of the years that followed,” the Saville inquiry found. “Bloody Sunday was a tragedy for the bereaved and the wounded, and a catastrophe for the people of Northern Ireland.”
In response, Prime Minister David Cameron apologized in 2010 for the massacre, calling it “unjustified and unjustifiable,” and the next year, the government agreed to a plan to compensate families of the victims.
Marc Mulholland, an associate professor of modern history at Oxford and the author of “The Longest War: Northern Ireland’s Troubled History,” called Bloody Sunday “the most egregious” event in the Troubles and said it “completed a process of alienation, of Catholics and Irish nationalists, from the government at the time.”
Although the 2010 report was “universally seen as fair-handed and comprehensive,” it left open the legal and moral question of whether individuals should be held culpable, he said in a phone interview.
“It is an episode that is universally known in Northern Ireland, and its resonance echoes down the years,” he added. “So some people will wonder why it’s taken so long for someone to be held to account. On the other hand, there will be those who feel the arrest will reopen, yet again, an episode that should be closed by now. Lots of people have had to bear pain, see killers of friends and family walk the streets again after 1998. Should we be going down this path?”
Brian Conway, a sociologist at the Maynooth University in Ireland, welcomed news of the arrest, noting that many relatives of the victims continued to press for a criminal investigation after the Saville inquiry.
“This is part of dealing with the legacy of state violence,” he said. “It’s part of a wider attempt to heal the divisions of the past.”