Calls for ‘insensitive’ flags to be removed
SDLP MLA John Dallat has condemned the flying of a parachute regiment and loyalist paramilitary flags in Limavady.
The flags have been erected along a main holiday route on the Seacoast Road, one of the official tourist trails of The Causeway Coast.
Mr Dallat and local Councillor Gerry Mullan have called for the removal of the flags which they described as a calculated insult to the memory of those people who lost their lives during the Troubles.
Mr Dallat said: “The people who erected these flags did so for one reason and that was to cause hurt to people still bearing the scars of Bloody Sunday and the Troubles.
“This is a main tourist route to Benone Strand where considerable European funding has been spent improving tourist facilities. It is also a main gateway to Mussenden Temple and onward to the Giant’s Causeway.
“These should be regarded as hate crimes and it is time for those responsible to stop extolling their bigotry. So far I have not heard any noise from DUP politicians who are normally very vocal in matters pertaining to flags epitomising the complete failure to deal with a problem which continues to sap any credibility left in the political process.”
