More than 20,000 people took part in a march and rally in Derry yesterday to mark the 26th anniversary of Bloody Sunday.
The march was headed by relatives of the 14 unarmed men shot dead by British army paratroopers on January 30th, 1972, and was held just three days after the British Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair, announced a new judicial inquiry into the killings.
Mr John Kelly of the Bloody Sunday Justice Campaign told the rally that the families of whose who died did not want the inquiry to be a rerun of the 1972 Widgery Tribunal, that exonerated the soldiers' actions and described many of the victims as gunmen.
"The families have had a long struggle but certainly what Tony Blair said, what has really surprised us, is the fact that we are going to get more or less what we have asked for," he said.
"We have asked for truth. We have asked for justice and Tony Blair will have to stick to his word because we will be watching what is going on.
"Let us not forget, we have to be very very careful because the last thing we want is another Widgery. Last week Tony Blair buried Widgery's conclusions and they are now lying six foot under beside him wherever he is lying," he said.
Mr Mark Durkan, a former SDLP chairman, was the first SDLP representative in recent years to address the rally. He told the marchers that after the civil rights march 26 years ago, Lord Widgery had "interned without truth" the memories of the 14 victims.
"Those victims have the right to have their memories vindicated against all such insinuation. Their innocence must be accorded equality with all the innocent victims. The equality of their innocence has been denied and that is why the new inquiry is needed and that is why the families and friends have worked for so long," he said.
At Free Derry Corner the Sinn Fein chairman, Mr Mitchel McLaughlin, urged SDLP and Irish Government representatives at the peace talks to argue for an ending of partition.
"The popular mood within nationalism expects genuine accommodation and an acceptance of change. Each party must bring their analysis to the negotiations," he said.
"But I am bound to say on behalf of Sinn Fein that we will not sign up to any settlement that would entrench partition. The SDLP and Dublin Government are on public record as being opposed to an internal settlement. Fair enough, but I hope they will go further and set their sights on ending partition."
Sinn Fein believed that a permanent peace and the copper-fastening of partition were incompatible, he said. "If anyone in the British or unionist establishment thinks that we will settle for institutionalised division of our people and country, then they had better think again."
Mr McLaughlin accused unionist politicians of not working for peace. "If the unionist political leadership were progressive and gave leadership for the future instead of trying to hold back the tide of history, then they would be looking for agreement on how this island can be governed in a manner which threatens no part of our society."
He said the need for a peace process showed that partition had failed and that all the talks participants had stated publicly that the status quo was not an option.
Referring to statistics indicating a nationalist voting majority in the North in 12 years, Mr McLaughlin said unionists should "bring that perspective into the talks process".