Thursday 17 June 2010

I'm glad we've got a Conservative Prime Minister !

Hold the front page. Barnet Lib Dem Candidate Rog T says he's glad David Cameron won the election. Has hell frozen over? I'm starting to think it must have. If you were on the 07:47 train from Mill Hill to central London yesterday morning you'd have seen a strange sight. You'd have seen a grown man crying. Why? Well I was reading the Guardians coverage of the Bloody Sunday enquiry. First I read the piece by Simon Winchester, who was a witness to the  killings. Then I read the apology given by David Cameron to the Commons. Finally I read Bernadette Devlins comments, detailing how she hit Reginald Maudling when he lied to the house. It all got a bit too much.

I'm not normally a particularly emotional person, but we need more MP's like Devlin. She hit Maudling because she knew for a fact he was a liar and he was getting away with a monstrous act. If only every MP who behaved so badly got a punch in the face in the chamber, maybe things really would change. Sadly the commons was not televised then so the moment is not preserved for posterity.

Why am I suddenly glad that we have a Conservative Prime Minister. Because the Tories and the Unionists are joined at the hip. The fact that it is a Tory Prime Minister who finally has to own up to the truth about the most shameful British action in my lifetime is worth all of the pain and hardship that they'll inflict on us. Cameron said
The Government is ultimately responsible for the conduct of our armed forces and for that, on behalf of the Government  - and indeed our country - I am deeply sorry.
It is forgotten by many that the protest was organised by the Civil Rights Association. The killings effectively ended this organisation and gave wings to the brutal Provisional IRA. Nothing the CRA was asking for was unreasonable. By murdering people, a far worse scenario erupted. The past can't be undone, but as far as I am concerned only a Conservative Prime Minister could effectively apologise for the crimes of another Conservative Government.

In many ways I'm a Bastard of mixed race. Although I cheer the English football team and proudly wear the flag of St George, I'm equally proud of my Irish Ancestry, of my Cousin Kevin Barry who was an early IRA martyr (for the record, I'm even prouder of my Dad who was an Aussie Immigrant who flew Wellington Bombers for the RAF 40 squadron (commemerated here on the Australian War Memorial Web Site)).

I passionately believe that we need to rectify the tragic errors of the past, acknowledge our mistakes, but also remind ourselves of the enormous good this country has done for the world. Mr Cameron and his apology have helped. It would have meant nothing to me had it come from Gordon Brown, for reasons I can't explain and can't fathom.

Some things are more important than ecomomics, money and politics. That is why I think the Bloody Sunday enquiry was money well spent. We can never be a society where inconvenient truth is hidden away. That's why I write a blog.

1 comment:

ainelivia said...

Yes it was a very emotional day, my eyes were watery watching the news. 38 years the Derry families waited to hear what they knew, that their family members were innocent. Feel sad and happy, and thankful that I live in a country that will eventually listen to the truth, and that there are people with the strength and courage to pursue that justice, though I feel it could have happenned sooner...
and it also brought home to me how that day prolonged the Troubles in Northern Ireland, and only served to encourage so many people to take violent action against the agents of the British Government. Do you think we will ever learn? Great post Rog. Cheers. Carol