(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – People in the United Kingdom hold positive views on Prime Minister David Cameron’s apology for the events of "Bloody Sunday", according to a poll by Angus Reid Public Opinion. 61 per cent of Britons—and 71 per cent of respondents in Northern Ireland—agree with this course of action.
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – People in the United Kingdom hold positive views on Prime Minister David Cameron’s apology for the events of "Bloody Sunday", according to a poll by Angus Reid Public Opinion. 61 per cent of Britons—and 71 per cent of respondents in Northern Ireland—agree with this course of action.
Ireland remained divided along religious lines for several centuries, as Catholics and Protestants lived side-by-side, with different concepts of how their land should be administered. In 1921, after negotiations initiated by Michael Collins, Ireland was split into two entities: an independent Republic of Ireland in the south, and a British-controlled Northern Ireland. Decades of violence and confrontation have resulted in more than 3,000 deaths since the 1960s.
In late July 2005, the Irish Republican Army (IRA) "formally ordered an end to the armed campaign" and instructed volunteers to "assist the development of purely political and democratic programmes through exclusively peaceful means." The IRA and its splinter cells killed more than 1,800 people—including 650 civilians—in their struggle for "Irish unity and independence."
In October 2006, the major political parties from Northern Ireland accepted the St. Andrews Agreement. The document, proposed by the British and Irish governments, paved the way to restore self-governance in Northern Ireland. Key elements of the accord include the full acceptance of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), and the restoration of the Northern Ireland Assembly.
In May 2007, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and Sinn Fein officially formed a power-sharing government with Ian Paisley as first minister and Sinn Fein’s Martin McGuiness as deputy prime minister. In June 2008, Paisley was supplanted by Peter Robinson.
"Bloody Sunday" refers to the events of Jan. 30, 1972, when 13 Catholic demonstrators were killed in Derry. Earlier this month, the Saville Inquiry published its final report on "Bloody Sunday" and concluded that British soldiers opened fire without justification at unarmed, fleeing civilians.
British Prime Minister David Cameron apologized for the government’s responsibility over the events of "Bloody Sunday", and called them "unjustified and unjustifiable."
McGuinness—who was a prominent member of the IRA in 1972—declared: "This is a big day for the families, a big day for Derry, a big day for Ireland and a big day for the world, because the eyes of the world are looking at what is going to happen. Really what the people are seeking is very simple and very straightforward: the exoneration of their loved ones."
Polling Data
As you may know, the Saville Inquiry that investigated the events of 30 January 1972—a day more commonly known as "Bloody Sunday"—has published its report. UK Prime Minister David Cameron has apologized for the Government’s responsibility over the events of "Bloody Sunday", and called them "unjustified and unjustifiable." Do you agree or disagree with the Prime Minister’s apology?
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BRI
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NIR
|
|
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Agree
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61%
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70%
|
|
Disagree
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20%
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23%
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Not sure
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18%
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7%
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Source: Angus Reid Public Opinion
Methodology: Online interviews with 2,018 British adults and 178 Northern Irish adults, conducted from Jun. 17 to Jun. 23, 2010. Margins of error are 2.2 per cent for Britain and 7.3 per cent for Northern Ireland.
