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Higgins urges Britain: Open bombing files

PRESIDENT Michael D Higgins has urged the British government to open up secret files on one of the worst atrocities of the Troubles.

Denouncing as morally unacceptable attempts to encourage victims to forget the past, Michael D Higgins said more needed to be done in dealing with the fallout of some mass killings including the 1974 Dublin and Monaghan bombings.

"a strategy of amnesia is simply not an option," he said.

"asking people to forget about the past and to 'move on' is neither acceptable in a moral sense nor workable in political terms."

During a reception for Justice for the Forgotten - which campaigns for an investigation into alleged British state collusion in the 1974 massacre - Mr Higgins said many questions remain unanswered despite a state inquiry and parliamentary hearings in Ireland into the mass killings.

"As we progress towards such a better future, we must not forget those who died, those who mourn them and those who were injured," he added. Mr Higgins, pictured, was presented with a copy of Lethal Allies, a book which revealed evidence of widespread collusion between loyalists and security forces.

Paul o'Connor from the Pat Finucane Centre welcomed his comments and acknowledged his continued support for two all-party Dail motions calling for all materials relating to the bombing to be released to an independent, international judicial figure.