What value has rememberence, without Justice?

My heart goes out to the families of the 96 victims of the Hillsborough Disaster who lives were unnecessarily taken from them 20 years ago today. Those of us involved in Football will never forget the feelings of sickness and helplessness we felt watching those scenes unfold on the pitch. Young People laying on the ground with the life squeezed from them, parents frantically looking for their children.

We will also never forget the sight of other supporters coming to their aid whilst ambulances were kept away because they were told it was a "hooliganism" incident rather than a tragedy. We will never forget the sickness of the Sun newspaper trying to blame and defame other supporters by saying that they were at fault and suggested the most heinous of crimes being committed against the dead.


We also will not forget the inadequacy of the subsequent inquiry, or that no Senior Officer from South Yorkshire Police was ever held accountable. We will not forget that CCTV tapes under the guard of the Police went missing and have not been recovered to this day. Lord Taylor's report into the disaster criticised the senior officers on duty for a "failure to control" but an inquest two years later ruled the deaths were "accidental" an prosecutions were ever brought.

We will remember that proper crowd control outside of the ground and people inside the ground assisting people to find empty space rather than a packed terrace could have prevented those 96 lives being lost.We will wonder at how the police were allowed to Shepherd people like like sheep and treat all as trouble makers rather than treat them as human and as individuals.

We will never forgive Chief Superintendent David Duckinfield for deceitfully and dishonestly" telling senior FA officials that the supporters had forced the gate open themselves, only to have to retract his words in court when he was later found out to have lied. We will wonder why he gave that order to open the gates without any control arranged for those who then entered the stadium and added to the crush. Nor can we forgive the coroner for deciding that anything that happened after 3.15pm on that day was not worthy of his investigation.

But above all today, and until the truth is revealed we will remember that the families of the 96 victims got no justice then, and as a result continue to suffer to this day. Trevor Hicks lost his two young daughters Sarah and Victoria that day he has been campaigning for justice ever since through the Hillsborough Family Support Group

http://www.hfsg.co.uk/1.html

he said

"We're sick of it, we wish it had never happened. Similarly, we're sick of all the backsliding, we're sick of all the lying and cheating, the unfulfilled promises from politicians, from organisations.

"And really we have no option but to keep on doing what we're doing, because quite frankly a lot of people don't listen to us."

If the authorities had any decency they would finally admit their faults now and bring those responsible to justice to help the families move on.

If not, then what value do we apply to our remembrance now in the abscence of the Justice which should have followed at the time of the event?