Jan Pettersson | BLOODY SUNDAY : A long road to justice

It was January 30, 1972 when British troops opened fire on unarmed demonstrators in Derry. Fourteen people were killed and many wounded. In this infamous massacre Michael McKinney lost his elder brother William: “My brother is dead. Who is responsible?” Since then the events of Bloody Sunday have been a lifelong journey filled with protests, meetings, campaigns, press releases, demonstrations, ups and downs, pain and joy. The struggle for justice and truth over the years involves many people and is well documented, but this book focuses on the personal story of Michael McKinney. Bloody Sunday should concern us all. The massacre was much more than a single event. It symbolizes the mechanisms of violence and the consequences of state violence and murder, but also how ordinary committed people can put the establishment in the dock. It also symbolizes all the unsolved murders perpetrated by the British government, and how the legal system was manipulated to cover-up the truth. There is no doubt that Bloody Sunday marked a turning point in the Northern Ireland conflict.