but others rushed to the street comers.
Thus Simon Winchester at the Guarcian described the events of "Bloody' Sunday. 30 January 1972, when 13 civil rights demonstrators were shot down in cold-blood by members of British Imperialism's terror-squad, the 1st Paratroop Battation.
What prompted British imperialism's to add one more mass-murder to its len any list of masscres up and down the world? What effect did those events have on the struggle in Ireland and the solidarity movement in Britain? And what tessons can we earn 3 wears later?
Sinen August 1971, British imporialIsm had been under considerable press ure in the Six Counties from the catholic minority, both on the military front -with the growing guerrilla campaign against British troops, waged principally Do the Provisional IRA - and the com munity walde rent and rates strikes. Inese These find struggies had been linked in tenes or ma street demonstrations led nominally by the Chill Rights move Paratroopers piled out of their vehicles, many ran forward to muke arrests.
who opened fire with their rifles..
streets and at one stage a lone sniper on a street corner fired two shots ment, but aimed et bringing down the Stormont regime and smashing the whole sectarian Orange statelet. British Imperialisme needed to inflict a decisive blow on this rising tide of struggle, particul ariy in Derry, where at thet time resistance wes strongest. The unarmed mass demonstrations were the obvious target - hence the bloody Derry massacre, But the hoped-for subsequent demorelisation of the catholic minority did not take place. The Provisionals redoubled their armed campaign, the rent-strikes and iness civil disobedience continued and two mortths later Stormont, British incentalism's legal" prop in the Six Counties, felt and direct rule was imposed from London.
But chances were missed, principally by the lesdership of the two wings of the IRA. Two nights later thousanas of angry angry Irish workers stormed the British embassy in bubin ad burnear down. But The atrious potential for a Mass campeign in Die Sauth in solidar. ie the beleaguered minority in the North when wa to poit out For instance, when thousands of workers from the South wanted to come North a unilater for the next mass domo in Newry, thus making links bet ween the two struggles concrete, the Official 1HA accually urged them to tum back "to avoid trouble'.
in Britain, there were demonstrations Gunfire and arthy recruiting offices were occupthe sound ied all over the country in solidarity with thase killed in Derry. Thousands began to question for the first time the prog ressive role of the British army in the North.
However, partly because of the ooportunist and sectarian positions of most of the revolutionary left in Britain, It took another two years for a Troops Dut campaign to begin to flourish, When the Official bombed Aidershot army camp two weeks later in retaliation for Derry, killing six civilians by mistake, this provided the excuse for many sections of the left to drop the irish issue for the time being.
Three months later, the infamous Widgery Report appeared to provide the whitewesh wth which to bury the whole emoerrassing affair. But those still dighting British imperialism in Iraland have not torgosion, and chose or us in 1ae heart of the monster which ordered those Kiltinas, can not forget either. We must not let up our sampaign for the with doval of British troops until the day when the last British soldier steps onto the boat home. Then we with snow there unionist population, MASS ACTION priority. even more ferocious. hand over to the loyalists.
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ing: "Bure them"..
the others really had to fight worst treatment was reserved for a black woman militant, And this lasted for more than two hours!
and so on.
Some of us managed to escape, but
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'It was these men, perhaps 20 In all, wards me as I peered around a corner. above their heads. One man was carrying a white handkerchief. was directed even at them and they fled or fell to the ground. this continued for about 10 or 15 minutes until about 4.30pm.
ON "Four or five armoured cars appeared in William Street and raced into the Rossville Street square, and several thousand people began to run away.....
Army snipers could be seen firing continuously towards the central Bogside After Bloody Sunday-striking Irish workers march on British Embassy in Dublin 'Then people could be seen moving forward in Fahan Street, their hands