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Halting for history Minute of silence at 3:06 p.m. to Hillsborough dead
Posted: Thursday April 15, 1999 02:23 PM
LIVERPOOL, England (AP) -- At 3:06 p.m. Thursday -- 10 years to the minute after 96 people died in Britain's worst sporting disaster -- referee Paul Lewis blew his whistle at Liverpool's Anfield stadium to summon a minute of silence. As approximately 10,000 mourners stood silent in the famous "Kop" end of the stadium, many people across Liverpool and elsewhere in Britain also stopped to honor the dead. It was Lewis who blew his whistle in 1989 to call off the F.A. Cup semifinal between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest at Hillsborough stadium in Sheffield. Most of the victims were crushed to death after police herded late-arriving fans into already-overcrowded pens in a fenced-off area behind one of the goals. Mourners at the ecumenical service Thursday, which included the singing of the hymns "Amazing Grace" and "Abide with Me," included former and current Liverpool players and coaches. Relatives placed 96 red roses at the stadium's eternal flame memorial, and candles for the each of the victims were lit as their names were slowly read out. To the strains of the Liverpool theme song "You Never Walk Alone," mourners held up the club's red-and-white scarves and a banner which read, "The Kop remembers 96 reasons for justice." The Rev. James Jones, the bishop of Liverpool, described the service "as a balm" for a "wound that still needs healing." In the Liverpool Echo newspaper this week, Liverpool's 19-year-old star Michael Owen expressed his feelings. "The club motto is 'You'll never walk alone,' and I think that's the sort of message the club should carry on sending to the relatives of the victims," Owen said. "It is difficult to identify with the grief, but I have tried to think how I would feel if I lost a brother or sister in a tragedy like that." The tragedy, after a public inquiry, led to sweeping safety measures including all-seater stadiums for Premier League and first division clubs in England. In the 10 years since the tragedy, supporters groups have also lobbied for legal action against the police, who initially blamed the Liverpool fans for arriving late and also accused them of being drunk. Although a four-month long inquest recorded verdicts that the deaths were accidental, relatives of some of the fans who died have taken out a private prosecution against two senior officers accusing them of manslaughter and willful neglect of public duty. Just over a year ago, Home Secretary Jack Straw refused to bow to pressure for a fresh public inquiry in the light of new evidence into how the police handled the tragedy. But the 10th anniversary has again brought renewed calls for action. "It is no comfort to the families of the 96 fans who died at that football match to know that grounds today are much safer and more civilized places to visit," Sports Minister Tony Banks said in a statement. "It is inappropriate to talk of good coming from the tragedy. But I do believe we have learned lessons and I know that there is a collective will to make sure this can never happen again."
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