See this breaking news story on the landmark Bloody Sunday criminal investigation published for RightsInfo here: https://rightsinfo.org/bloody-sunday-solider-to-be-charged/

One former British soldier is to be charged with the murders of two men and the attempted murders of four others over the Bloody Sunday shootings in Londonderry.

Soldier F will face prosecution for the murders of James Wray and William McKinney and the attempted murders of Joseph Friel, Michael Quinn, Joe Mahon and Patrick O’Donnell.

There was insufficient evidence to provide a reasonable prospect of conviction for the other 16 former soldiers, the Public Prosecution Service said.

Families gathered outside The Museum of Free Derry, yards from where the killings took place 47 years ago, and marched together to the city centre to hear the decision.

A murder investigation was launched by police into the events of the fateful day in January 1972 when 13 civil rights activists were shot dead in Derry, Northern Ireland, and 15 others wounded.

Following the largest and most expensive ever public inquiry in the UK, the Public Prosecution Service of Northern Ireland investigated charges of murder, attempted murder and grievous bodily injury with intent to endanger life.

One former soldier from Parachute Regiment’s 1^stbattalion will now face charges of murder and attempted murder.Commemoration 35 years on from Bloody Sunday.

Twenty subjects were interviewed by police in the investigation including two former ‘Official IRA’ members, but one of the soldiers has since died.

For Michael McKinney, Jean Hegarty and John Kelly and so many others whose loved ones never returned home from Derry that afternoon, it is a day that marks years of searching for closure.

“I was with Michael when he was shot,” said Kelly, recalling the tragic day 47 years ago. “I went in the ambulance with him. I can still see him lying there after being shot. He was a young boy.”

Speaking to The Guardian, the 70-year-old continued: “His face turned grey and a sort of green colour. I was in the mortuary afterwards. There were nine or 10 bodies. It was pure carnage. My mother never got over the loss of her son.”

The outcome of the £195m inquiry which trawled through 668 witness statements and many visual and 125,000 pages of written documents, saw Lord Saville declare the killings “unjustified and unjustifiable”.

It brought into focus the right to life, and where the responsibilities of the state begin and end when investigating deaths.

Speaking following the conclusion in 2010 which brought some peace for the victims, Prime Minister David Cameron also gave the families a heartfelt apology.

But however much the events of that day are retold in grieving minds, official investigations into what happened have been mired in controversy.

The initial Widgery Tribunal “was veiled in secrecy, subject to political influence, and negligent in its failure to consider crucial eye-witness testimony,” Human Rights Watch said amid the launch of the landmark Lord Savile review in 1998.

The charity welcomed the decision of the British government to form a new review with full judicial weight, stating that “the relatives of victims have a right to know the truth about the events of Bloody Sunday.”

But it is not just the inquiries which have raised ill feeling. Northern Ireland legislation currently limits sentences committed after 1973 to a maximum of two years.

Speaking to The Guardian, Paul O’Connor of the Pat Finucane Centre in Derry explained: “From 1970 on, soldiers had a de facto amnesty in Northern Ireland.

“Documents from the National Archives show there were discussions between the attorney general and the chiefs of staff where they made it quite clear they would do everything in their power to protect soldiers from prosecution.”

Featured Image: Bloody Sunday mural in Derry. Credit: Suzanne Mischyshyn

See this published for RightsInfo here: https://rightsinfo.org/lgbt-education-birmingham-address-concerns/

A primary school that taught children about LGBT+ relationships in an effort to combat homophobia and instil the right to equality in the next generation has said it will hold discussions to address parent concerns about the curriculum after 80 per cent of its pupils were withdrawn by parents in protest. The school has also said that it will not be delivering the lessons up to the end of term.

Parkfield Community School has faced a backlash by predominantly Muslim parents over its ‘No Outsiders’ programme, which uses same-sex stories and activities to instil knowledge and acceptance of homosexual relationships in children between the ages of four and 11.

The school in Alum Rock, Birmingham, had written to parents asking for the “upsetting” weekly protests staged outside its gates to stop, which have seen chants of “shame” from crowds and signs including “education not indoctrination”.

The curriculum, designed to meet the requirements of the Equality Act, was being piloted with five lessons each year featuring stories such as Mommy, Mama and Me and King & King to teach the children that homosexuality is as mainstream and normal as opposite sex attraction.

But rather than being seen merely as a forward-thinking programme that reflects modern society and the advancement of LGBT+ rights in recent years, the parents at the school escalated the row by taking around 600 pupils out of classes claiming that teachers were corrupting the innocence of their children and not honouring their faith.

Discussions Over Lesson Delivery

Facebook group Alum Rock Community Forum celebrated the school becoming “a ghost town” as only 140 students turned up of 700, and claimed the progressive education was “undermining of parental rights and aggressively promoting homosexuality & LGBT lifestyle”.

Leaving many in disbelief that such scenes are still unfolding in 2019, one father at the school Abdul Ma, 46, told The Sun: “This is a brainwash. We bring our children here so they can later work as a solicitor or a teacher, not to be taught about being gay or a lesbian.”

Senior managers at the school, which is rated outstanding by Ofsted and recognises tolerance, personal liberty and respect as core British values, have said discussions will take place about the delivery of the lessons, citing that “the ethos, the books, the age appropriateness, the lessons and the assemblies” made parents uncomfortable.

In a letter to parents, Excel Multi Academy Trust, which runs the school, added: “The school encourages parents to ask their children what No Outsiders is really about, as the children are very clear there is no focus on one aspect of equality, rather No Outsiders teaches that everyone is welcome.”

The programme was developed by assistant headteacher Andrew Moffatt, who was forced to defend the curriculum after 400 parents signed a petition calling for the lessons to be abolished.

Moffat, who has been awarded an MBE for his work in equality education, became a target for the angry parents after he was open about his same-sex civil partnership in class. He says he has been abused with a leaflet campaign and one parent was heard blasting “get Mr Moffatt out” through a megaphone at the school perimeter.

A Welcoming Ethos For All

The school is due to stop delivering the lessons to the end of term, but has denied that this was a U-turn. “In our Long Term Year Curriculum Plan, this half term has already been blocked for Religious Education (RE). Equality assemblies will continue as normal and our welcoming No Outsiders ethos will be there for all,” they wrote.

Mr Moffatt, who has made the top ten of the prestigious million-dollar Varkey Foundation Global teacher Prize, said that dozens of pupils at the school had supported him through the ordeal.

“I was inundated with little posters and cards that children had made at home saying, ‘No outsiders. Everyone is welcome,’” the teacher told The Independent.

“The first one I got I was quite shocked.”

READ MORE: Opinion – Teaching Young People About LGBTQ+ Issues Is Vital, Whatever Your Religion Or Beliefs

Parent Fatima Shah sowed the seeds of the protest, telling the BBC: “We don’t have an issue with them learning that yes, you will come across same-sex couples.”

Insisting that the challenge does not come from a site of homophobia, she added: “What we have a problem is his promoting of homosexuality, and that is what he is doing. Telling children as young as four that it’s ok to be gay. It just doesn’t go with our beliefs, our rights”.

Following a meeting between the Board of Trustees for the academy, local MP Liam Byrne, parents and Andrew Warren, the Regional Schools Commissioner for the West Midlands, the Trust agreed in a letter to parents to launch a consultation with parents this half term to “explore equality education at Parkfield”.

Ofsted chief Amanda Spielman defended the school, judging it essential that children know that families can “have two mummies or two daddies”.