In Derry, Ireland, on January 30, 1972, Ivan Koop prepares to lead a massive demonstration against the British government's policy of detention without trial in Northern Ireland.
After the British Army General Ford learned the news, he announced to the media that it was an illegal march and said that a crackdown would be implemented. Brigadier General McCree began to prepare to detain a group of "suspicious elements", take military action, and dispatched paratroopers led by Colonel Weyford as the vanguard. The moderate Koop felt apprehension from the simmering atmosphere, and in an effort to avoid violence and bloodshed, he got the IRA's assurance that they would not use force in the first place.
On Sunday, the 30th, there was tension in the city. Organized by Koop, the parade followed a pre-determined route. A group of young men cursed the army, and clashes broke out with soldiers, who broke through the military's barricades, and the parade fell into chaos. McCree ordered the soldiers to use water hoses, tear gas and rubber bullets, and Coop struggled to control the situation in a panic. Even more alarming is the fact that the army opened fire on unarmed civilians, unleashing a bloody massacre.
Afterwards, General Ford and Colonel Weyford claimed in front of the media that only three civilians were killed. But in fact, Koop learned from the hospital that 13 people were killed and 14 injured. In the public protests, the British government had to investigate the matter. Yet each of the soldiers questioned insisted that their targets were heavily armed and that they had acted in self-defense. It was then announced that Colonel Weyford's forces had encountered IRA fighters in Derry, and that they had only fired back at the fighters.
The British government created fake evidence to cover up the brutality of the military: a young man named Gerald was forced to undergo repeated checks by the army after being injured. In fact, he had no bombs and guns on him, and he died on the way to the hospital , the military claimed to have found explosives in the body pockets. Some officials within the government and the military have also questioned the incident
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