Saturday 29 June 2019

Was 'Territorial marking' enabled in Belfast's City Cemetery?




This is the sight which greeted a seventy five year old Protestant lady on a visit to her father's grave in the City Cemetery last Father's Day. Speaking to Unionist Truth Forum, the pensioner told of her discomfort and unease at being in the area on seeing a tricolour mounted on a plot in the middle of what is a council owned cemetery where countless deceased from the Protestant and Unionist community lie laid to rest.

To add further insult to injury this lady reported facing dismissive and unconcerned attitudes when she contacted Belfast City Council to raise concerns at this ostentatious Republican
display, eventually telling her they had no power to remove the flagpole. She went on to tell us there were smaller Irish Republic Tricolour already on the graves (which, too her credit, she did not have an issue with) so why the need and to fly a large Tricolour from an affixed pole and acquiescence from Council staff to its presence?

Unionist Truth Forum are aware of sensitive Flags and Emblems policies in cemeteries maintained by other councils, the question we ask of Belfast City Council is, do BCC have such a policy in place and if not why not?

Given the cacophony of disgust from Sinn Fein's Mairtin O'Muillor, Alliance's Emmet McDonough-Brown and Paula Bradshaw and Claire Hanna and Nicola Mallon of the SDLP in recent days over the erecting of our National Standard (Union Flag) and the Northern Ireland Banner(Ulster Flag) in parts of South Belfast in the run up to the annual commemorations of the Battle of the Somme, we ask them to clarify their position on this Republican display in a cemetery where so many who fought on the Battlefield of the Somme now sleep.  Does this "marking of territory have the support of paramilitaries" in West Belfast Marty?
Is this "an attack on shared space" Emmet?
Is this "a poison on our society" which "we need to get to grips with Nicola"?


We in the Unionist community would love to have the same rights of equality (equal rights, social and cultural diversity) as those who fabricate it demand. Shared space means shared space. Equality means being equal, especially in status, rights or opportunities
The Unionist community live here too.

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