50th anniversary of the Bloody Friday bombings

That this House notes the 50th anniversary of the Bloody Friday bombings which took place on the 21st of July 1972; extends again sympathies to the families of those 9 people so callously murdered and also to the 130 others who were injured and who bear the physical scars and emotional trauma to this day; further notes the sheer magnitude of the scale of over 20 bombings which were meticulously planned over a prolonged period of time and which involved scores of IRA members who transported and planted explosives with complete understanding that the security forces would not be able to deal with so many bombs in a short space of time; underlines that the apology made by the IRA in 2002 regarding non-combatants underlines the persistent belief that attacks against the Army and RUC were acceptable when in reality they were and are evil, vile acts that can never be whitewashed or justified; and further affirms the resolute and unwavering determination of this House to withstand the attempts to re-write history in current attempts to explain away the pre-meditated and orchestrated murders of human beings in the Province as simply regrettable and unintentional consequences of war.