Inquests are to be opened into the deaths of 10 people shot dead by British troops in Belfast 40 years ago in what has become known as the "Ballymurphy Massacre".
Northern Ireland’s Attorney General, John Larkin, has written to the families confirming the fresh inquiries into the Parachute Regiment killings in the Ballymurphy area of the west of the city.
The shootings took place in August 1971 when internment without trial was introduced in a botched attempt to take paramilitaries off the streets.
The 10 civilian victims included a mother of eight and a Catholic priest, while an 11th victim is said to have died of a heart attack after being intimidated by troops.
The deaths came five months before soldiers from the same regiment killed 14 people in Derry in the Bloody Sunday shootings that were condemned by the Saville Inquiry.
John Teggart, whose father Daniel was one of those shot dead in the massacre, welcomed the decision to begin fresh hearings in the 10 inquests within months. “We commend the Attorney General for showing leadership and credibility,” he said.
He said the new inquests were necessary after the initial flawed investigations but added that the move would not end the families’ campaign for a full independent investigation into the Ballymurphy shootings.
“What we are getting at the moment is what we were entitled to in 1972 [when the original inquests place]. We are also entitled to a proper investigation, which we never got.”
Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams described the decision as a “landmark legal judgment” which provides families with an opportunity to get to the truth over the deaths of their loved ones. Mr Adams said his party would continue to press for an inquiry into the 11th death at Ballymurphy.
He referred a string of other killings from the early 1970s linked to the Parachute Regiment, which included the shootings of a number of teenagers and two 12-year-old schoolchildren. “None of those killed had any connection to any armed group. They were all innocent civilians,” he said.
“The new inquests, held under different rules, provide the families with the possibility of getting to the truth. The inquests must now be held without delay and the families must be provided with the necessary resources to ensure that all of the facts are uncovered.”
West Belfast representative Alex Attwood, of the nationalist SDLP, also welcomed the announcement on the case. “The decision by the Attorney General on the Ballymurphy Massacre is a step in the right direction,” he said. “This decision vindicates the campaign of the families for truth and justice.
“This development, however, serves to confirm that it is a public, international inquiry that is needed to give the families the means to truth that their campaign demands.”
PA