Gerry Duddy, brother of 17 year old Jackie Duddy who was killed on Bloody Sunday, was detained by British police this week when he arrived in Birmingham to begin a speaking tour organised by the Troops Out Movement.

Mr Duddy was held for about 30 minutes on Monday by police who searched his belongings and questioned him about his movements.

``Although two others were stopped at the time I was stopped they were allowed to go on straight away. I think I was singled out because of who I am. So much for freedom of movement here,'' the Bloody Sunday campaigner said.

Mr Duddy said the tour, from Monday until today, was to inform people ``of the facts surrounding the killing of my brother and the 13 others who were killed with him''.

He also gave an update on the Saville Inquiry into Bloody Sunday at a public meeting on Tuesday in the Union Club in Birmingham.

``The relatives of those killed on Bloody Sunday appreciate the opportunity to speak directly to people in England about our campaign for justice,'' Mr Duddy said.

Another Bloody Sunday relative Tony Doherty, whose father Patrick was killed, will be speaking at the annual march and rally on Saturday in London .

Gerry Kelly a Sinn Fein negotiator, John McDonnell MP , Jeremy Corbyn MP, Diane Hamill whose brother Robert was beaten to death by loyalists in full view of an RUC patrol and Sukdev Reel from the Justice for Ricky Reel campaign and a speaker from the Justice for Stephen Lawrence Campaign will all speak at the rally at Friends Meeting House, Euston Road.

The rally will assemble at Victoria Embankment at 12 noon, and march to Euston Road via Westminster, Downing Street and Trafalgar Square.

Bloody Sunday weekend to debate state violence

The programme for this year's Bloody Sunday weekend in Derry has been announced.

State violence is the theme of this year's programme and the weekend's events will start on Friday with the annual Bloody Sunday lecture at Derry's Guildhall which will be given by Michael Farrell, the veteran civil rights activist and author whose books, The Orange State and Arming the Protestants are seminal works that describe the establishment and defence of the Six Counties after Partition.

The lecture will be followed by a debate on `The march from civil to human rights' with Sinn Fein's Dr Dara O'Hagan, leading Ulster Unionist, Chris McGimpsey and Alex Attwood from the SDLP.

On Saturday, there will be a picture exhibition and screening of documentaries on Bloody Sunday and state violence at Pilot's Row community centre in Rossville Street, Bogside. Mary Nelis, Sinn Fein Assembly member, will give an alternative guided tour of Derry at 10.30am while at lunchtime Don Mullan, author of Eyewitness Bloody Sunday, will lead a tour of the Bogside and visit key landmarks of the Bloody Sunday massacre.

A number of workshops will take place throughout the weekend and Msgr Raymond Murray will sign copies of his new book, State Violence in Northern Ireland. Of particular importance will be the update that solicitors representing the relatives of the Bloody Sunday dead and the wounded will give on the new Saville Inquiry. This will be at 8pm in Pilot's Row.

On Sunday the weekend will finish with the annual Bloody Sunday commemorative march which follows the original route from Creggan to Free Derry Corner. Liam Wray, whose brother was one of the 14 killed, will chair the rally, and speakers will include Tony Doherty and Brendan MacCionnaith of the Garvaghy Road resident's group.

Kerry republican and Sinn Fein Ard Comhairle member Martin Ferris will deliver the main address.

 


Meanwhile, the Bloody Sunday Weekend Committee has received a huge response to its invitation to bands requesting to attend the annual commemorative march.

In a statement, they said: ``As expected, the allocated number of bands agreed upon by the commmittee to attend this year's march has been promptly filled. We regret this inconvenience to other bands but this decision has been agreed upon by the committee and the Bloody Sunday Families. We would like to take this opportunity to extend thanks on behalf of the committee to those bands and individuals who have taken an interest in commemorating the Bloody Sunday dead this year.