London, June 15 (IANS) The outcome of an inquiry into the 1972 killing of 13 people in Northern Ireland, a blood-soaked event that came to be dubbed Black Sunday, is to be made public Tuesday.
Soldiers from the British Parachute Regiment opened fire on a civil rights march in Derry Jan 30, 1972. It marked the effective end of the non-violent campaign for civil rights in Northern Ireland.
Some young people who had previously regarded themselves as non-political then joined the Irish Republican Army (IRA).
Two months after Bloody Sunday, Northern Ireland came under direct rule from London.
In 1972, an initial inquiry into the killings concluded that the firing was reckless but that the protesters had fired at the soldiers.
Irish nationalists protested against the inquiry report and began a movement for a separate inquiry. The issue moved from the public domain to the courts, making it the longest and most expensive public inquiry in the country’s legal history.
In 1998, the Tony Blair government announced a fresh probe by Lord Saville, a well-known high court judge.
Between 1998 and 2009, he undertook no other judicial work.
Public funds worth 191 million pounds were spent on inquiry costs, including more than 100 million paid to lawyers.
