Silence for Bloody Sunday

Thirteen Catholics were shot dead by troops on Sunday, January 30, 1972, Derry, Northern Ireland.

LONDONDERRY, Northern Ireland -- As the people of Londonderry marked the 30th anniversary of Bloody Sunday, Northern Ireland Secretary John Reid said the province must not be shackled by its past.

He said at some time people had to draw a line on the past, not by forgetting, but by using memories to resolve such events would never happen again.

At 4.15pm on Wednesday a one-minute silence was held in Londonderry to mark the exact moment paratroopers opened fire on a civil rights march in the Catholic Bogside area.

The gunfire lasted 15 minutes after which 13 were dead and 14 were left wounded -- one dying later of his wounds

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The deaths were a defining moment in 30 years of the troubles in Northern Ireland. The army maintained troops they only began firing after they were shot at from a nearby block of flats.

Relatives of those who died also attended a special service on Wednesday in the city's Catholic St Eugene's Cathedral and re-dedicated a memorial to the fallen.

The clergyman who became one of the defining images of the day was at the ceremony.

A photograph of Edward Daly -- who went on to become a Catholic Bishop -- waving a blood-splattered handkerchief was shown around the world after Bloody Sunday and Daly became a hero for administering last rites to victims amid the gunfire.

Dr Reid, speaking in Belfast, said his thoughts were with the families of those who died on Bloody Sunday.

"It is an anniversary which will evoke very painful memories and unfortunately the past 30 years in Northern Ireland have created too many such anniversaries and too much pain."

The Saville Inquiry had been established to discover the truth of what happened on that fateful day, he said. But it was also important that the natural concern with the past did not stop people moving forward.

The events of Bloody Sunday and others like the Enniskillen bombing were, by any standards a tragedy, he said and the truth must be uncovered.

But he said : "We should use the truth , we should use what reconciliation we have from gaining the truth, to build a platform for the future."

Prime Minister Tony Blair told the House of Commons the that the Saville inquiry was justified because people had lost their lives and it was important to get to the truth, even though it happened 30 years ago.

A procession will be held on Sunday -- along the original march route -- to commemorate the Catholics that died.

A first inquiry held shortly after Bloody Sunday exonerated the military and no soldier has ever faced charges in connection with the deaths.

The current inquiry, ordered by Blair, is proving to be the most expensive in British history.

Chaired by Lord Saville of Newdigate, it has heard testimony from more than 475 witnesses since it opened in March 2000 and is expected to have cost £100 million ($141 million) by the time it winds up in 2004.