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Choo Choo Choose Wisely! |
Just browsing through
the BBC News page when I came across a story involving the
destruction of banners at the loyalist protest camp at Twaddell
Avenue in north Belfast. Apparently police are treating the incident
as a hate crime as opposed to an act of criminal damage or attention seeking.
The protest camp was
set up in opposition to the refusal by the parades commission to
allow a return Orange Parade to pass by the Ardoyne shops in July
2013. This was due to ongoing tensions in the area during the
marching season and the anti-social behaviour that ensued after the
return parade in previous years.
Just to remind people
the protest camp at Twaddell avenue is at an interface and is so
contentious it requires a nightly police presence costing £40,000-
£50,000. And lets
not forget that this camp is situated on Housing Executive Land, yet
the Minister responsible for the Housing Executive, Nelson McCausland
of the DUP, is for once mute.
What I fail to grasp is
how the recent destruction of banners and flags whilst wrong can be
described as a hate crime. In contrast the breaching of countless
parades rulings which included sectarian tunes being played outside
of a Catholic church were never branded the same. Bandsmen involved
in breaching Parades Commission rulings had their charges dropped
because they not only didn't see the big signs telling them about the
ruling nor did they hear the PSNI with loud hailers but they failed to see the protesters and the church!
Anyway I've gone off on
a tangent here!
What frustrates me is
the money that is being spent on this glorified huffing exercise
given the money that is being denied to front-line services. Maybe
these serial protesters should take to the streets and exercise their
democratic right to protest over things that are actually impacting
on the wider population. Things like the impending welfare reform,
the hacking of front-line services and the ongoing attack on the
poorest and most vulnerable in our society.
Maybe they could stand
in solidarity with the people of Belfast who have been forced out of
their homes after racist attacks. Maybe they could protest against
the failure of the Stormont Junta to implement the promises of the
Good Friday Agreement which include the Bill of Rights and the Civic
forum.
We are a multi-cultural
and multi-faith society, the orange and green record is less than
melodic and frankly was played out a long time ago. This nonsense
serves only deflect from the ineptitude of those pretending to run
the North of this country. It helps portray us as a nation
of religious muck savages who are too stupid to see when we are being
played for fools and robbed of the basics.
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Looking for his old job back! |
Flags, camps and
parades don't feed, house or clothe families nor do they help reverse
the cruel decisions being made by those who benefit from the orange and green gravy train. The antics of those at Twaddell avenue not only provide great material for local wits like Jake O'kane but ultimately fuel the sectarian agenda that is being played out by those on the Northern Ireland Assembly.
All aboard the Stormont
express, you don't need a ticket to ride this train, just a blinkered
perspective.
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