East Londonderry MP Gregory Campbell said,
“The singular focus on the actions of soldiers on 30th January
1972 ignores every other aspect of what happened on that day as well as
the events leading up to it.
This process was started with the Saville Report. That report did of
course mention that Martin McGuinness was probably carrying a Thompson
sub-machine gun on the day of the march but chose to ignore the
Provisional IRA’s use of a sub-machine gun to murder two RUC officers in
the same vicinity just three days earlier.
Martin McGuinness’ possession of a sub-machine gun and that gun’s
previous use is part of the overall picture of what happened on that
day. So too are the activities of Official IRA members on that day, but
we know that these will not be the subject of a review or prosecutions.
Nearly fifty years after the events in Londonderry the activities of
soldiers continue to be investigated. In contrast, many other families
who lost loved ones have not seen any proper investigation into the
murder of their relatives. It also remains a fact that 90% of deaths in
Northern Ireland were at the hands of terrorists. Despite the protests
of some, it is indisputable that we see a disproportionate focus on
those deaths attributed to those who were serving and protecting the
community in difficult and very dangerous times.”