‘From Minneapolis to Derry, we shall overcome’: Bloody Sunday March committee 'stands with those resisting Trump and ICE'
The brother of one of the 13 men and boys shot and killed on Bloody Sunday has said there are direct parallels between the events in Derry in 1972 and what is happening in U.S. cities today.
Liam Wray was speaking on behalf of the Bloody Sunday March Committee as relatives prepared to join with others to commemorate the 54th anniversary of the atrocity in Derry at a series of events this weekend.
Thirteen men and boys, including Liam’s brother Jim Wray, were murdered when British paratroopers opened fire during a civil rights anti-internment march in Derry on January 30, 1972. Another man, who was among the dozens wounded that day, died later.
The massacre in the Bogside area of the city became known as Bloody Sunday.
The organisers of this weekend’s Bloody Sunday March in Derry issued a message of solidarity to the people of Minneapolis and right across America, who are facing down ICE border control agents.
Drawing parallels between Derry then and events in the US now, Mr Wray said:
“Innocent people gunned down in the streets, their only ‘crime’ was their pursuit of civil rights and a better society.
“The recent violent attacks by ICE agents against peaceful protestors, resulting in the murders of Renee Good and Alex Pretti have many similarities to the murders carried out by the Parachute Regiment in the Bogside.
“The deaths of innocent people, followed by a campaign of lies, cover up and the smearing of the victims is the same old story that we in Derry know only too well.
“We have been fighting for 54 years to try and get some justice for the victims of Bloody Sunday - still no one has been found guilty in a court of law for the massacre of the innocents perpetrated by paratroopers and covered up by senior British politicians and soldiers.
“The fight for justice in Minneapolis is only just beginning but it will follow a familiar path.
“The Bloody Sunday March Committee send our love, appreciation, and unyielding solidarity to all those who stand against ICE and thirst for justice for Renee and Alex.
“Out of the horrors of Trump’s America”, Mr Wray said, “the people who came out to protect their neighbours” have shone a light out to the world and “showed us that solidarity is a powerful weapon”.
“From Minneapolis to Derry, from Gaza to Iraq let the chimes of freedom sound: We Shall Overcome.”
The Bloody Sunday March takes place this Sunday, February 1, departing at 2.30pm from the Creggan Shops.