Expressing the Hope for Justice for the Victims of Bloody Sunday

Floor Speech

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Mr. KEATING. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 888) expressing the hope for justice for the victims of Bloody Sunday, one of the most tragic of days during the Troubles, on its 50th anniversary as well as acknowledging the progress made in fostering peace in Northern Ireland and on the island of Ireland in recent decades, as amended.

The Clerk read the title of the resolution.

The text of the resolution is as follows: H. Res. 888

Whereas on January 30, 1972, 26 unarmed civilians were shot by British soldiers during a protest that began peacefully in Derry, resulting in the death of 14 individuals in a massacre now known as Bloody Sunday;

Whereas as a result of the soldiers' unjustifiable use of force, the individuals known as John ``Jackie'' Duddy, Patrick ``Paddy'' Doherty, Bernard ``Barney'' McGuigan, Hugh Gilmour, Kevin McElhinney, Michael Kelly, John Young, William Nash, Michael McDaid, James Wray, Gerald Donaghy, Gerard McKinney, William McKinney, and John Johnston tragically lost their lives;

Whereas Bloody Sunday was one of the most significant and deadly injustices to take place during the Troubles, and exacerbated the conflict in Northern Ireland;

Whereas none of those shot by British Army soldiers posed a threat of causing death or serious injury, or were doing anything else that could justify their shooting;

Whereas the families of the victims of Bloody Sunday were denied for decades an honest and comprehensive assessment of the events that took place on Bloody Sunday;

Whereas in 1998, after campaigns from the families of those injured and killed on Bloody Sunday, a second inquiry was established by the Government of the United Kingdom;

Whereas this second Bloody Sunday Inquiry found that the shootings that took place on Bloody Sunday were the result of wrongful actions taken by British soldiers;

Whereas on June 15, 2010, then-Prime Minister David Cameron while addressing the House of Commons apologized on behalf of the Government of the United Kingdom saying that the events that took place on Bloody Sunday were ``unjustified'', ``unjustifiable'', and ``wrong'';

Whereas despite these findings and acknowledgment made by the Government of the United Kingdom, none of the individuals involved in the unlawful use of force that led to the murder of 14 innocent civilians on Bloody Sunday have been held accountable;

Whereas the lack of accountability and justice provided to those who perished from the unlawful use of force on Bloody Sunday both erodes trust and is dangerous;

Whereas accountability and justice for the victims of Bloody Sunday, along with all victims of the Troubles, would represent a step towards addressing Northern Ireland's legacy of violence and promote reconciliation;

Whereas an environment which fosters accountability and justice for the events of the Troubles must be established by the Government of the United Kingdom and maintained;

Whereas the full implementation of the Good Friday Agreement with a devolved government in Northern Ireland as well as healthy ``north-south'' and ``east-west'' relations provides appropriate, useful, and productive avenues for discussion and negotiation to prevent violence, uphold peace, maintain stability, and promote the interests of all parties and communities involved;

Whereas the avoidance of a hard border on the island of Ireland is essential for maintaining the peace resulting from the Good Friday Agreement;

Whereas the full implementation of the Northern Ireland Protocol as agreed upon as part of the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the European Union will assist in preserving peace and stability on the island of Ireland;

Whereas while progress has been made in fostering peace in Northern Ireland and on the island of Ireland in recent decades, it is in the interest of all parties to foster intercommunity discussions and relations as well as integration in civil and societal structures to promote communication and mutual understanding; and

Whereas on January 30, 2022, peace activists, concerned individuals, and the descendants of those lost to this violence gathered in Derry to mourn, to stand in solidarity with victims' families in their search for justice, and re- commit themselves to the peace process established by the Good Friday Agreement: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the House of Representatives--

(1) condemns the violence and killing of 14 individuals on Bloody Sunday 50 years ago and supports justice for the victims and their families;

(2) calls on all parties to take meaningful steps toward peace and reconciliation and to ensure justice for victims of the Bloody Sunday massacre as well as all those affected by the Troubles by supporting dialogue and negotiation between all parties;

(3) urges the full implementation of the Good Friday Agreement to ensure peace and stability on the island of Ireland;

(4) recognizes the findings of the Bloody Sunday Inquiry, also known as the Saville Inquiry, and calls upon the Government of the United Kingdom to support prosecutions of individuals who committed unjustifiable crimes on Bloody Sunday based on the evidence collected;

(5) opposes any proposal by the Government of the United Kingdom to implement amnesty or statute of limitation laws that would end or inhibit investigations and prosecutions of crimes committed during the Troubles, including on Bloody Sunday;

(6) calls upon the involved parties to facilitate the implementation of the Northern Ireland Protocol in the interest of maintaining peace and stability on the island of Ireland;

(7) urges the European Union, including the Republic of Ireland, and the United Kingdom to act in good faith with regard to negotiations around Brexit and implementation of the Northern Ireland Protocol;

(8) calls on the people of Northern Ireland to foster further integration across communities and break down cultural, religious, and societal barriers that remain;

(9) supports the devolved government of Northern Ireland and recognizes the devolved government as a successful outcome and tenet of the Good Friday Agreement; and

(10) supports the continued strong governmental, societal, and cultural relationships between the peoples of the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Republic of Ireland.

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Mr. KEATING. Res. 888, as amended.

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Mr. KEATING. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of my resolution expressing the hope for justice for the victims of Bloody Sunday, one of the most tragic days of the Troubles, a violent time which lasted 30 years from approximately 1968 to 1998.

This resolution acknowledges the progress made in fostering peace on the island of Ireland in recent decades and calls on all parties to come together to ensure full implementation of the Good Friday Agreement.

This resolution comes at an important time during the 50th-year anniversary of the massacre and on St. Patrick's Day, a day where people of Irish descent around the world remember our roots and celebrate our history. I am proud the resolution is moving forward on this day of all days.

First, I thank many of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for their sponsorship of this resolution. To the original cosponsors-- Representatives Richie Neal, Mike Kelly, Brian Fitzpatrick, David Cicilline, Jim McGovern, Nicole Malliotakis, Gerry Connolly, Juan Vargas, and Tom Suozzi--and almost 40 other cosponsors, I am grateful for their support and for their longstanding work on this issue.

I also express my deepest gratitude to Chair Meeks, Ranking Member McCaul, Leader Hoyer, and the House Foreign Affairs Committee staff for their support of this resolution.

As a member and as a former chair of the Europe, Energy, the Environment and Cyber Subcommittee himself, Chair Meeks understands firsthand the importance of peace and stability on the island of Ireland.

I introduced this resolution to honor the lives lost during Bloody Sunday, a singular day amidst a long period of struggle that exacerbated the conflict in Northern Ireland.

On January 30, 1972, I was a college student in Boston, a city known for its deep connection to Irish-American culture. I vividly recall the images and displays of unbridled violence during a peaceful protest in Derry that reverberated throughout the world. Even today, I remain deeply affected by the actions of British soldiers that led to the wounding of 26 unarmed civilians and the death of 14 individuals.

On January 30, 2022, as 50 years had passed, I expressed to the families of the victims my firm belief that Bloody Sunday represents one of the deadliest injustices to take place during the Troubles. I underline that as we continue to mourn the loss of those who perished that day, we must also advocate for justice while taking the necessary steps to build a more peaceful future.

As I expressed to the families, accountability and justice for the events of Bloody Sunday must be achieved to ensure a long-lasting peace on the island of Ireland. While it has long been acknowledged that British soldiers were directly responsible for the murder of civilians on Bloody Sunday, those who suffered under this unlawful use of force continue to be denied an honest assessment of the events that took place in 1972. To date, not one of the individuals involved has been held accountable for their actions.

I want to state clearly: amnesty proposals by the government of the United Kingdom are disrespectful and deny due process to Bloody Sunday victims and their families. They run counter to the spirit of remarks of then-Prime Minister David Cameron who termed the events as unjustifiable and wrong. The evidence is clear: The individuals responsible for the violence that took place on that fateful day must be brought to justice.

Along with the avoidance of a hard border, these legacy issues remain as threats to and unfinished business of the Good Friday Agreement, an agreement few thought would ever occur. Both sides compromised. Its improbable success of diplomacy over violence inspires us today as Europe and the world face its greatest conflict in 80 years.

On St. Patrick's Day we take pride in the indispensable role the United States has played in forging the Good Friday Agreement. The Clinton Administration and congressional leaders worked tirelessly over two decades ago to implement the Good Friday Agreement and achieve peace through diplomacy. I admire the efforts of American leaders like Tip O'Neill; Ted Kennedy; George Mitchell; and my colleague, Richie Neal, who were all instrumental in negotiating a long-lasting peace.

I firmly believe the agreement accompanied by the efforts of community activists and leaders willing to work for peace and commit to a political framework was and remains essential to creating stability in the region. We must continue to support the ongoing efforts to promote integration and reconciliation and address the impacts of intergenerational trauma.

Leaders like Monica McWilliams and Jane Morrice, as well as countless others working on these issues today, recognize that peace does not begin and end only on Good Friday. The work they do and the work of others healed divided communities and should and must go on.

This resolution not only remembers those who lost their lives during the Troubles but also recognizes challenges and opportunities of maintaining the hard-fought peace that followed. Let Bloody Sunday serve as a reminder of the hard work and pain to achieve harmony.

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Mr. KEATING. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Pennsylvania for his support and for his bipartisan efforts at healing and moving forward.

Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Brendan F. Boyle), who is a friend of Ireland and a friend of mine. He is a champion of civil rights causes.

Mr. BRENDAN F. BOYLE of Pennsylvania. Madam Speaker, I thank my good friend from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts as well as my fellow Pennsylvanian, another great Commonwealth. You know which one I am partial toward.

Madam Speaker, I not only thank Chairman Keating for his leadership in pushing this resolution but also thank him for the eloquent words that he just spoke. He laid out the situation quite clearly. I would like to just briefly elaborate.

Former British Prime Minister David Cameron, to his great credit, said these words about a decade ago: ``There is no doubt, there is nothing equivocal, there are no ambiguities. What happened on Bloody Sunday was both unjustified and unjustifiable. It was wrong.'' He further went on to say: ``I am deeply sorry on behalf of the British Government.''

Now, despite those truly admirable words and despite the findings and acknowledgment made by successive British Governments, shamefully, none of the individuals involved in the murder of 14 innocent civilians on Bloody Sunday have ever been held accountable.

This resolution says: ``The lack of accountability and justice provided to those who perished from the unlawful use of force on Bloody Sunday is both shameful and dangerous.''

Madam Speaker, we remember those who perished. We also recognize the family members of those who were harmed and killed on Bloody Sunday who fought for decades and decades to finally get justice.

But we must go further than that. A few weeks ago, I led a bipartisan letter--and, again, this whole effort has been bipartisan, which is always the case when it comes to the issue of peace in Ireland here in the United States. I led a bipartisan letter to object to the British Government's latest plan to institute an amnesty, a blanket amnesty. I quote from this resolution, which is similar to the letter that we sent.

``We oppose any attempt by the British Government to implement amnesty or statute of limitation laws that would end or inhibit investigations and prosecutions of crimes committed during the Troubles, including on Bloody Sunday.''

The resolution further goes on to talk about today and: ``Calls upon the involved parties to fully implement the Northern Ireland Protocol as agreed upon in the interest of maintaining peace and stability on the island of Ireland.''

Madam Speaker, today, in the United States and around the world, as we celebrate St. Patrick's Day, all of us, whether like me of Irish descent or not, let us also make sure that we don't lose sight of this important civil rights issue.

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Mr. KEATING. Madam Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Neal), a champion of the Good Friday Agreement, a person who I mentioned in my remarks was there at the time, working to make it successful. Ireland and the Good Friday Agreement have no greater leader and supporter.

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Mr. KEATING. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee), a champion of civil rights here in this country, a civil rights movement in this country that helped inspire the Good Friday Agreement.

Ms. JACKSON LEE. Madam Speaker, I thank the distinguished gentleman from Massachusetts for his leadership.

How honored I am to be on the floor with Richard Neal, who had a major and forceful engagement in bringing about the recognition of those who were murdered in 1972.

I thank my friend and colleague on the other side of the aisle for joining in this bipartisan effort, and I reenforce Chairman Neal's comments about the bipartisan celebration of this great day and the great people of Ireland.

I am happy to be on the floor on St. Patrick's Day, and I wish all of my constituents, and friends across the nation of the great green, a happy St. Patrick's Day. But I come to make sure this day, Bloody Sunday, is certainly not forgotten.

I am so glad Chairman Neal indicated its inspiration came from the toil and the soldiers on the battlefield, Madam Speaker, our beloved friend John Lewis, in the civil rights movement, and those who are willing to sacrifice for their belief and justice.

I am so glad that we ultimately found the truth to recognize John ``Jackie'' Duddy, Patrick ``Paddy'' Doherty, Bernard ``Barney'' McGuigan, Hugh Gilmour, Kevin McElhinney, Michael Kelly, John Young, William Nash, Michael McDaid, James ``Jim'' Wray, Gerald Donaghy, Gerald McKinney, William ``Willie'' McKinney, and John Johnston, who tragically lost their lives.

As this resolution indicates, British soldiers came and shot them down. They did not understand their seeking of dignity and the rights that they had. So Bloody Sunday almost tracked some of the terrible issues that we had, but these people died and were injured, and many families for decades were denied truth.

I think it is very important that we stand on the floor today in a bipartisan way to honor that and to applaud Prime Minister David Cameron, who went to the House of Commons and apologized and said that the events that took place on Bloody Sunday were unjustified, unjustifiable, and wrong.

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Mr. KEATING. Madam Speaker, I yield an additional 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Texas.

Ms. JACKSON LEE. Madam Speaker, how sad and maybe even criminal it was to ignore this for so many years. How grateful we would be when those who died for their rights, for justice, for equality, the very same tenets we all adhere to here in the United States.

Let me draw in now and conclude my remarks by joining in the resolution that urges the European Union, including the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom, to act in good faith with regard to negotiations around Brexit and the implementation of the Northern Ireland Protocol. But more importantly, let me emphasize the importance of the relationship between the United Kingdom, the United States, and Ireland. Let me track the fact that we believe in justice, we believe in civil rights, and we believe in the idea of the speech of empowerment and the speech of democracy.

Let us not resort to bloodiness and the killing of those who simply seek to speak for justice for them and their families.

Today, in commemoration of Bloody Sunday, never again.

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H. Res. 888, which expresses the hope for justice for the victims of Bloody Sunday, one of the most tragic of days during the Troubles, on its 50th anniversary, as well as acknowledging the progress made in fostering peace in Northern Ireland and on the island of Ireland in recent decades.

On January 30, 1972, 26 unarmed civilians were shot by British soldiers during a protest that began peacefully in Derry, resulting in the death of 14 individuals in a massacre now known as Bloody Sunday, or the Bogside Massacre.

Bloody Sunday is one of the most significant and deadly injustices to take place during the Troubles--also known as the Northern Ireland conflict--and describes the struggle between Irish Roman Catholics and British who sided with Irish Protestants that lasted from the 1960s until 1998.

None of the 26 unarmed people shot by British Army soldiers posed a threat of causing death or serious injury, or were doing anything that could justify their shooting.

The families of these victims were denied for decades an honest and comprehensive assessment of the events that took place on Bloody Sunday.

In 1998, after campaigns from the families of those injured and killed on Bloody Sunday, a second inquiry was established by the British Government, and it found without doubt that the shootings were the result of wrongful actions taken by British soldiers.

The lack of accountability and justice provided to those who perished and their families from this heinous use of force was unacceptable. They deserved justice.

Accountability and justice for the victims of Bloody Sunday would represent a step toward addressing Northern Ireland's legacy of violence and promoting reconciliation.

This conflict was rooted in suppression, silencing the voices of those who differ from you by taking away their freedoms and their liberties.

As an African American woman in the United States, I know too well the struggles of oppression.

The march led by our Beloved John Lewis from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama that resulted in the brutal beating of marchers by police is known as Bloody Sunday is a turning point in the civil rights struggle.

I stand with the victims of Bloody Sunday, because whenever oppression happens anywhere around the world, and people risk losing their freedoms and their liberty, I will always stand with them.

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Mr. KEATING. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume for the purpose of closing.

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague on the Foreign Affairs Committee, Representative Meuser, for his very eloquent remarks and his bipartisan support and leadership on this issue for Ireland.

I want to record and reflect upon the people lost during these tragic events marked by Bloody Sunday. They are John ``Jack'' Duddy, Patrick ``Paddy'' Doherty, Bernard ``Barney'' McGuigan, Hugh Gilmour, Kevin McElhinney, Michael Kelly, John Young, William Nash, Michael McDaid, James Wray, Gerald Donaghy, Gerard McKinney, William McKinney, and John Johnston.

We need to remember and memorialize these people, young and old, who stood peacefully, and in defiance, in their support for their values.

While many, rightfully so, have been commended for their work to bring peace to the island of Ireland, the victims of the Bloody Sunday massacre made the ultimate sacrifice, fighting against repression and demanding peace.

To the victims of Bloody Sunday; all victims of The Troubles, including the disappeared; the families of the victims; and the people of Ireland and Northern Ireland, I say this directly to you: We, in Congress, remember. We, in Congress, stand with you. We, in Congress, know there is much more work still to be done.

I introduced this resolution to demonstrate our solidarity with you, and I urge passage to signal that we will continue to fight for peace and stability on the island of Ireland.

With that spirit, I wish you all a happy St. Patrick's Day, and I urge all of my colleagues to join us by voting in the affirmative on this important resolution.

Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

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