Families Vindicated. British Gov. to Continue the Cover-Up.

In August 1971 the British Army ran rampant in the community of Ballymurphy in Belfast. In the space of three days, they killed 11 people. Six months later the same regiment shot 13 dead on the streets of Derry in what became known as Bloody Sunday.

In the day and years that followed the British government justified the massacre in Ballymurphy.

For fifty years the families of those killed have fought for justice. Today a court in Belfast found there was no justification for any of the killings and those killed were entirely innocent.

Having been exposed in the courts the British government response was to continue to protect their military for their actions in Ireland committing to legislate to “end the cycle of investigations”

Sinn Féin President Mary Lou McDonald has described today’s inquest verdict as a vindication of the campaign of the families of all those killed by members of the Parachute Regiment in Ballymurphy 50 years ago.

She said, however, that today will be bittersweet as the British government will now attempt to block justice by walking away from their agreement with the Irish government on dealing with the past.