SLIDESHOW: Derry remembers Bloody Sunday
Thousands attended the annual Bloody Sunday commemoration march in Derry on Sunday to hear relatives of those killed and wounded in the massacre call for the immediate publication of the Saville report.
Despite icy winds and falling sleet and snow, it was one of the largest commemoration marches in recent years, attended by around 20,000 people.
Speaking on William Street at the spot where the original march was stopped 38 years ago, John Kelly, whose brother, Michael, was killed on Bloody Sunday, read a statement on behalf of the families calling for Lord Saville's report into the 1972 shootings to be published as soon as possible.
"The Bloody Sunday families have faced many tests over the years and we have shown great patience but that patience is wearing very thin indeed," he said.
"We have grave concerns over the fact that the British government will get it first. There is the possibility that they could remove material in order to protect soldiers. We have made it clear that we don't want any censorship. The timing of the report is crucial. We do not want the report to sit in a filing cabinet in Whitehall for months. If it sits in Whitehall for months, it will be available to the government and their friends in the media," Mr Kelly added.
Click here for slideshow from the march
And here for more pics
In a direct appeal to the author of the report, Mr Kelly said: "Enough of this, Lord Saville. Give us the report and set the truth free."
Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness told the large crowd that he raised the concerns of the Bloody Sunday families directly with the British prime minister during last week's talks at Hillsborough Castle.
"I said to Gordon Brown face-to-face to set the truth free. I told him that Saville must report to the families and that they must be given every advantage over everyone else when it comes to the getting it at the same time as the government.
Truth is clear
"I was called to the Saville Inquiry and I told the truth. The truth is clear and needs to be told. It was murder and that is what the report needs to say," he said.
SDLP leader Mark Durkan echoed the families' call for the report to be published soon.
"It is now clear that any near publication date will take place in the countdown to a British general election. The report will be followed some weeks later by a full debate in Westminster which could now be further complicated by the change of ministers or even a change of government in the aftermath of a general election.
"The British Government must give the families proper treatment and consideration upon its release. I would make the same appeal to the British establishment, namely the current opposition, who may style themselves as a government in waiting," he said.
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Weather for Derry
Sunday 27 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 14 C to 24 C
Wind Speed: 13 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Sunny spells
Temperature: 12 C to 23 C
Wind Speed: 13 mph
Wind direction: South east
