'What's another year?' - Bloody Sunday relatives now face longer wait
Relatives of those killed on Bloody Sunday were told this week that Lord Saville's Report into the Bogside atrocity may not be ready until the New Year.
Family representatives received a letter this week from the Secretary to the Bloody Sunday Inquiry outlining the timetable of tasks remaining.
In this timetable, the Secretary revealed that a substantial quantity of material will be sent to the professional editors "within a matter of weeks", with the remainder to follow over the coming months.
The letter also outlines plans for typesetting and proofreading the report and emphasises the need to prepare the "very large number of maps, photographs, and diagrams with which the report will be illustrated."
The letter from the Secretary to the Inquiry ended by stating: "The Tribunal now estimates that it will be able to deliver the completed report to the Secretary of State by the end of this year or shortly thereafter."
Kay Duddy, sister of 17-year-old Jackie Duddy, the first person to be killed on Bloody Sunday, welcomed the latest correspondence from the Inquiry team and said she was not surprised at the timescale outlined in the letter.
"What's another year," Ms Duddy told the 'Journal', "We've waited this long and we can wait another one if it comes to it. We just have to be patient, and although it's getting harder to be patient, it's all we can do. As long as they do the report correctly, and it seems as though they are, then we can wait."
Ms Duddy said that relatives of those killed have been assured that they will be kept informed of the report's progress: "It will have to go to the Secretary of State and announced at Parliament, and so a lot of people will have to see it that day before us. But Paul Goggins, the NIO Minister of State has promised us that we are the priority and as soon as possible after the report is released, we will get it," she added.
Thirteen local men were shot dead by British paratroopers during the civil rights march on January 30, 1972, with another man later dying of his injuries. A further 14 people were also injured on the day that was to become universally known as 'Bloody Sunday'.
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Derry
Thursday 23 May 2013
Today
Light showers
Temperature: 6 C to 9 C
Wind Speed: 26 mph
Wind direction: North
Tomorrow
Sunny spells
Temperature: 5 C to 12 C
Wind Speed: 14 mph
Wind direction: North
