iSorry...but can they iForgive?

It's taken 38 years for  for truth and justice campaigners in Northern Ireland to hear these magic words:

"None of the 14 dead was carrying a gun, no warnings were given, no soldiers were under threat and the troops were the first to open fire"

So what is all of this about? Bloody Sunday was an incident that took place on 30 January 1972 in the Bogside area of Derry, Northern Ireland, in which twenty-six unarmed civil rights protesters or bystanders were shot by the British Army Parachute Regiment during a Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association march. Thirteen men, seven of which were teenagers, died immediately or soon after, while the death of another man four and a half months later has been attributed to the injuries he received on the day. Two protesters were injured when they were run down by army vehicles.

As David Cameron (Prime Minister, Great Britain) announced the findings and apologised on behalf of the British state, a crowd of up to 10,000 people watching his statement on a television screen in Derry's Guildhall Square cheered wildly.

"I never want to call into question the behaviour of our soldiers and our army, who I believe to be the finest in the world."

"But the conclusions of this report are absolutely clear. There is no doubt, there is nothing equivocal, there are no ambiguities. What happened on Bloody Sunday was both unjustified and unjustifiable. It was wrong."

This has been an incredible battle for the families of those killed, who have campaigned and struggled against the Armed Forces to prove the innocence of their lost family brothers and fathers. So what now? Is it a time for iForgiveness? Can we close this chapter in history and now rest to remember the lost? It would seem not, it's payback time:

Lord Gifford QC, who represented the family of civil rights marcher Jim Wray who died on Bloody Sunday, said: "There are a number of possible charges arising from this report which has been thorough and even-handed. Murder is of course the obvious one. But the report also found that soldiers deliberately attempted to mislead the inquiry."

So what is this? Revenge? Payback? This is such a hard topic to discuss, but ultimately, here at iForgiven, we don't think this is revenge, we think this is justice and that those responsible should be brought to stand up and explain themselves.

We can iForgive a mistake, but we don't condone the actions that caused loss to so many families or condone the cover-up that ensued to hide these actions.

Full Story here