Irish Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney (left) meeting with British Northern Ireland Secretary of State Brandon Lewis in Dublin last week. Photo by Julien Behal Photography via RollingNews.ie.
By Irish Echo Staff
Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney has welcomed the coroner's verdict in the Ballymurphy Massacre deaths of August, 1971.
In a statement, Mr. Coveney said: “While we will need to examine the full detail of the Coroner’s statement, the principal findings have cast a tremendous new light on one of the darkest pages of the history of the conflict, and will come as an immense relief and vindication for the families who have maintained for decades that their loved ones were innocent and their killings unjustified.
"Today’s historic developments wouldn’t have been possible without the determined campaign by the families of those killed in Ballymurphy for the truth of what took place in those terrible days in August 1971. I have met with the families during the course of their campaign and I want to acknowledge and pay tribute to that extraordinary achievement. All of them are in our thoughts today.
"The deaths at Ballymurphy were part of the tragic legacy of the Troubles which saw the loss of over 3500 lives from all communities. Every family bereaved in the conflict must have access to an effective investigation and to a process of justice regardless of the perpetrator. All victims’ families deserve support in securing all the information possible about what happened to their loved ones.
"Only through a collective approach can we hope to deal with these issues comprehensively and fairly, and in a way that responds to the needs of victims and survivors, and society as a whole.”
There will be a full report on the Ballymurphy inquest verdict in this week's print edition of the Irish Echo out Wednesday
