2010-06-16
British Prime Minister Cameron's Apology for Bloody Sunday 38 Years Late
It only took the British 38 years and a 400 million pound inquiry to reach the conclusion that shooting unarmed civilians without warning or provocation was a bad thing.
To be honest, I think American conservatives could learn a thing or two from the British Prime Minister in this instance. It drives me crazy to see Republicans supporting our troops blindly when they're torturing prisoners or supporting Israel blindly when they're brutally oppressing Christians and Muslims and killing American humanitarian workers. The world is not black and white and choosing to see it as such is an endorsement of injustice.
Here's the reaction in Northern Ireland.
The British military tried lobbying to stop the report from being released because it could "negatively impact the morale of soldiers in Afghanistan." A shameful excuse, and thankfully Cameron saw it as such. This by no means should count as an apology for all the injustices and atrocities Britain had committed against the Irish, but it's a step in the right direction.
If you want an apology from the British government for trying to limit the liability of British Petroleum (BP) for destroying the Gulf of Mexico and making excuses for the company, just hang tight and you'll probably get one in another 38 years.
If you want to know what happened back in 1972:
This is a short clip from a docudrama called Bloody Sunday made by British filmmakers. The report released yesterday actually makes this film look like it was slanted in favor of the military. The men responsible for these shootings during an Irish civil rights march were awarded medals for their actions by the Queen. Here's a link to the actual report.
