The Guardian Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ====The Troubles==== During the early period of [[the Troubles]], ''The Guardian'' supported British state intervention to quell disturbances between [[Irish Catholics]] and [[Ulster loyalism|Ulster loyalists]] in [[Northern Ireland]].<ref>''The Guardian'', leader, 4 August 1969</ref> After the [[Battle of the Bogside]] between Catholic residents of [[Derry]] and the [[Royal Ulster Constabulary]] (RUC), ''The Guardian'' called for the [[British Armed Forces]] to be deployed to the region, arguing that their deployment would "present a more disinterested face of law and order" than the RUC."<ref>''The Guardian'', leader, 15 August 1969</ref> On 30 January 1972, troops from the [[1st Battalion, Parachute Regiment]] opened fire on a [[Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association]] march, killing fourteen people in an event that would come to be known as [[Bloody Sunday (1972)|Bloody Sunday]]. In response to the incident, ''The Guardian'' argued that "Neither side can escape condemnation... The organizers of the demonstration, Miss [[Bernadette Devlin McAliskey|Bernadette Devlin]] among them, deliberately challenged the ban on marches. They knew that stone throwing and sniping could not be prevented, and that the [[Provisional Irish Republican Army|IRA]] might [[human shield|use the crowd as a shield]]."<ref name="BloodySunday">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/1972/feb/01/bloodysunday.northernireland1|title=The division deepens|work=The Guardian|date=1 February 1972|author=Leader|location=London|access-date=13 December 2016|archive-date=2 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202121559/https://www.theguardian.com/uk/1972/feb/01/bloodysunday.northernireland1|url-status=live}}</ref> ''The Guardian'' further stated that "It is certainly true that the army cordons had endured a wanton barrage of stones, steel bars, and other missiles. That still does not justify opening fire so freely."<ref name="BloodySunday"/> After the events of Bloody Sunday, [[John Widgery, Baron Widgery]] was appointed the head of a tribunal to investigate the killings. The resulting tribunal, known as the [[John Widgery, Baron Widgery#Widgery Tribunal|Widgery Tribunal]], largely exonerated the actions of the soldiers involved in the incident.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/april/19/newsid_2491000/2491125.stm |title=19 April 1972: 'Bloody Sunday' report excuses Army |publisher=BBC |year=2008 |access-date=28 July 2009 |work=On this day 1950β2005 |archive-date=6 January 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080106153121/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/april/19/newsid_2491000/2491125.stm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Bowcott |first=Owen |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2010/jun/16/bloody-sunday-inquiry-derry-verdict |title=Bloody Sunday inquiry: 'We always knew the dead were innocent' |work=The Guardian |date=16 June 2010 |access-date=11 August 2013 |archive-date=25 July 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140725211745/http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2010/jun/16/bloody-sunday-inquiry-derry-verdict |url-status=live }}</ref> ''The Guardian'' published an article on 20 April 1972 which supported the tribunal and its findings, arguing that "Widgery's report is not one-sided".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/1972/apr/20/bloodysunday.northernireland|title=To make history repeat itself|work=The Guardian|date=20 April 1972|author=Leader|location=London|access-date=13 December 2016|archive-date=2 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202121813/https://www.theguardian.com/uk/1972/apr/20/bloodysunday.northernireland|url-status=live}}</ref> In response to the introduction of [[internment]] without trial in Northern Ireland, ''The Guardian'' argued that "Internment without trial is hateful, repressive and undemocratic. In the existing Irish situation, most regrettably, it is also inevitable... To remove the ringleaders, in the hope that the atmosphere might calm down, is a step to which there is no obvious alternative."<ref>''The Guardian'', leader, 10 August 1971</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page