VANESSA GILDEA,
Sir, - Reading Kevin Myers's Irishman's Diary of January 30th about the 30th anniversary of Bloody Sunday, I found myself agreeing wholeheartedly with the attention he draws to the countless mindless killings perpetrated by the IRA and other terrorist organisations.
However, murders carried out by the IRA are not carried out in the name of the public, but when British Army paratroopers fired into the crowd at a Civil Rights march in January 1972, they did it in the name of the British government and in the name of its citizens. It is this simple yet mind-blowing fact that differentiates Bloody Sunday from other bloody days in Northern Ireland's history.
By this I mean in no way to demean or belittle the loss and grief suffered by other victims of the Troubles and their relatives. The simple truth of the matter is that this was a government killing its own. - Yours, etc.,
VANESSA GILDEA,
Orwell Park,
Rathgar,
Dublin 6.
... ... * ... * ... * ... ...
Sir, - Reading Gregory Campbell's article in your edition of January 30th, I was somewhat surprised at his inability to grasp the fundamental principle of the Bloody Sunday enquiry. Mr Campbell lists a number of incidents which occurred before Bloody Sunday - violence and robberies carried out by the IRA - as if this is justification for what occurred on Bloody Sunday.
He tells us he is surprised that "openness" is expected from the Paratroop Regiment and not from the IRA. The Paras are a wing of an army controlled by a democratically elected government and thus must be answerable to the people. The IRA are far from that.
The core of the Bloody Sunday issue is that 13 unarmed people were shot dead and the whos and whys were covered up by the perpetrators and now the truth is being sought. Mr Campbell's semantics are just that. - Yours, etc.,
JONATHAN DOCKRELL,
Granville Road,
Blackrock,
Co Dublin.