The former Catholic bishop of Derry, who as a priest witnessed the Bloody Sunday killings, appealed yesterday to other witnesses to "search their consciences" and agree to give evidence.
Bishop Edward Daly said everyone should be anxious to see justice done. "A great healing could take place if members of the Protestant community could feel as strongly as the nationalist community about the search for truth." Dr Daly was speaking at the opening of the Bloody Sunday Centre, which has been provided for families of the victims for the duration of the hearings. The recently refurbished building in Shipquay Street will also provide office space for solicitors to the families.
The SDLP Mayor of Derry, Mr Pat Ramsey, commended the families of the 13 men killed on January 30th, 1972, for their dignity, passion and courage. "We will stand with you in your quest for the truth."
The centre has been provided by a local businessman, Mr Garbhan O'Doherty, who stressed that the hearings were not politically motivated but "about righting one of the most terrible wrongs". He said the findings of the Widgery tribunal should be set aside.
The chairman of the Bloody Sunday Trust, Mr Robin Percival, said the centre would also be open to the public. A slide show and the original Civil Rights banner carried during the march to Free Derry Corner on that day would help recall the tragic events.
Mr Percival was critical of those who had "challenged the integrity and independence of the tribunal" by claiming that soldiers who travelled to Derry to give evidence were in danger of being attacked. "That is a racist insinuation that Irish people are vengeful." Ms Kay Duddy, whose brother Jack was killed, said the centre was important to the families and was somewhere they could come to for support and advice over the course of the main hearings, which begin next March.