Britain · UK News Post
Image caption, The crest of Belfast City Council and an anti-Irish language message were printed on a union flag by Brendan Hughes Political reporter, BBC News NI. A contentious flag in Belfast stayed up for several months after Stormont contractors said support was needed from 'community representatives with the authority to order the removal'. The remarks over a flag opposing the Irish language were made in Department for Infrastructure (DfI) emails seen by BBC News NI.
An Alliance Party assembly member said it showed the 'toxic' impact of paramilitaries in some decisions over flags. DfI later secured alternative private contractors, but the flag was taken down before a planned removal operation could be carried out. The controversial display involved a union flag and a city council logo alongside a message with a swear word opposing the Irish language.
It was erected on a lamp post on Lisburn Road near its junction with Malone Place and Sandy Row. Concerns were raised ahead of Belfast's hosting of Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann, a major festival of Irish music and culture. Stormont's Irish language commissioner Pól Deeds wrote to DfI urging intervention, stating there was 'no place in our society for displays that express aggression towards the Irish language'.
Some politicians called for the flag to be removed, while the council said they 'do not condone the use of our logo in this way'. DfI officials discussed the flag with the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) in June, advising Stormont officials that removing the flag posed a 'low risk' of public disorder. Police offered to assist and reassure contractors taking it down, but a departmental official said their private contractor 'would not assist unless there is clear community support'.
The contractor required the operation to be carried out under the supervision of both the PSNI and local community representatives with authority to order removal. Alliance Party assembly member Paula Bradshaw said the language highlighted the 'toxic, controlling element' of paramilitary organisations in some areas. She proposed a bill in the Northern Ireland Assembly to address concerns over unauthorised flags on public property.
Green Party councillor Áine Groogan expressed concern, stating that society should not be beholden to offensive flags. In one email, police noted a staff member at a community organisation on Sandy Row had raised the flag issue with a Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) councillor, believing raising the issue would only bring attention to it. The DfI report by the Commission on Flags, Identity, Culture and Tradition (FICT) from 2021 found no consensus on flag legislation changes but agreed on elements of a 'code of practice', such as keeping flags away from community interfaces.
The flag disputes have long been contentious in Northern Ireland, with the FICT report's recommendations to be considered in a review of Stormont's community relations strategy.
Source: BBC
