Inquiry into 1972 Springhill `massacre' sought

Victims and relatives of the so-called Springhill massacre have been taking part in a public evidence-gathering session remembering…

Victims and relatives of the so-called Springhill massacre have been taking part in a public evidence-gathering session remembering the events which led to the deaths of five people in Belfast 27 years ago.

More than 100 people attended what was described as a "community recollection" by the organisers, who hope it will be the start of a campaign for a public inquiry into the events of July 9th, 1972, at the Springhill Estate in west Belfast.

Five people, among them a 13-year-old girl and a priest, were killed when British soldiers opened fire after claiming they had come under attack from IRA gunmen. Several people were seriously injured.

Residents claim the area was quiet on a sunny Sunday evening and the army started firing at them without provocation in an attempt to flush out an IRA cell. They also claim no official inquiry has ever been held into the incident.

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Yesterday's event was jointly organised by the relatives and members of the Bloody Sunday Justice Campaign from Derry. Mr Don Mullan, the author of Eye Witness Bloody Sunday, who is also involved in an investigation of the Dublin-Monaghan bombings, chaired the proceedings.

The aims of the campaign are a full public, comprehensive and binding acknowledgment by the British government that the killings were unlawful. They are also asking for an official apology.

Furthermore, they demand an inquiry to establish the full facts and identify those responsible for authorising and carrying out the shootings. Finally, they ask for an "immediate process of restoration and reparation" to the bereaved relatives and the injured.

The Sinn Fein president, Mr Gerry Adams, who was in the audience, described it as a local campaign which was nevertheless of great importance to the people of the area.

"It is currently going through the process of piecing together the fragments of what happened that day, of memory and recollection. I think this is a very important part of any healing process," Mr Adams added. Asked why there had been no such campaign before, Mr Adams said: "They don't call this the `hidden massacre' for nothing. The reason why the Bloody Sunday campaign has received so much more publicity is because the events of that day were televised."

He added he hoped the Spring hill campaigners could learn from the experience and expertise of the Bloody Sunday families.