Kingsmills families to meet Paterson
The families of 10 Protestant workmen killed in the Kingsmills massacre in 1976 are to meet with the Secretary of State later on Monday.
It comes after a report by the Historical Enquiries Team (HET) found last month that the IRA was behind the shootings in the south Armagh village 35 years ago.
Ten men were forced at gunpoint to reveal their religion after their bus was hijacked as they went home from work, before being lined up and killed.
Now relatives are demanding a full public inquiry.
They will be holding two meetings on Monday – firstly with NI Secretary Owen Paterson at Stormont, then with Assistant Chief Constable Drew Harris at PSNI headquarters.
UUP Newry and Armagh MLA Danny Kennedy, who is to accompany the families alongside DUP MP Jeffrey Donaldson, said they will push to re-open the police investigation into the atrocity.
“The HET report went some way to answering many of the questions that the relatives have had over the years,” Mr Kennedy told UTV.
“It’s also important to say there were gaps in the initial police investigation. There are questions as to the role of the British government at the time and particularly the Irish government, which allowed republicans to run rampant in south Armagh and use the republic as a safe area.”
The HET report said the IRA – who claimed to be on ceasefire at the time – was behind the attack under the cover name of the South Armagh Republican Action Force.
In one of the worst incidents of the Troubles, the ten victims were lined up with flasks and lunchboxes still in their hands and shot dead by 11 gunmen.
The HET also found that the weapons used could be linked to up to 100 other killings, included the murders of RUC Chief Superintendent Harold Breen and Superintendent Raymond Buchanan in South Armagh in 1989.
It said the motive was sectarian with each man murdered because he was a Protestant.
Mr Kennedy said a meeting has also been sought with Taoiseach Enda Kenny, pledging to support the relatives in their campaign for truth.
