Call for Hilton investigation
"We believe it is necessary to launch a campaign on the occasion of the 15th anniversary of the Sydney Hilton bombing. On February 13, 1978, three innocent people were horribly murdered and others were mutilated by the explosion, and yet the matter is still unresolved", say Terry Griffiths, an ex-police officer injured in the blast and Peter McGregor, a university lecturer, in a letter announcing a campaign for a joint royal commission into the case.
It is now over a year since the NSW parliament, on the initiative of independent MP John Hatton, unanimously called for "a top level, open, joint NSW-federal government inquiry into" the Hilton bombing.
However, the federal government claims that the matter is one for NSW alone. McGregor calls this a "ludicrous evasion of responsibility", given that federal security services were responsible for some of the security at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, outside of which the bomb exploded.
A range of evidence, information and testimony has been amassed over the years by Griffiths and others suggesting that responsibility for the bombing lies with the security services.
Activities on February 13 to support the call for a joint state-federal royal commission will include a silent vigil at the Sydney Hilton in George St at 11 a.m.; a call at the Commonwealth Parliament Offices (56-70 Phillip St) at 11.30; a rally outside state parliament at noon; and a public forum at the Metcalfe Auditorium of the State Library, starting at 1 p.m.
The Justice Campaign For Hilton Bomb Victims can be contacted on (02) 621 8019, (02) 678 7356 or via Peter McGregor, UWS, PO Box 10, Kingswood 2747.