Anger as republicans paint postboxes green
DUP West Tyrone MLA Thomas Buchanan has slammed what he has described as a Sinn Fein Youth campaign of criminal damage which has seen up to 50 postboxes across the county painted green – sometimes even in broad daylight.
A spokesman for Ogra Sinn Fein claimed it is "harmonising postboxes across Ireland" and "providing a public service by saving An Post a lot of work and money as we approach Irish unity" but Mr Buchanan said the group is merely putting greater financial pressure on lifeline rural postal services.
"Ogra Sinn Fein's annual festival of criminal damage may have changed the colour of some postboxes in Co Tyrone but it has absolutely no bearing on the constitutional status of Northern Ireland," he said.
"Far from saving the Republic's postal service money in a united Ireland which isn't going to exist, Ogra Sinn Fein are actually increasing the financial pressures on Royal Mail who will now have to repaint these boxes to their original colour.
"Rural postal services have suffered enough across areas like west Tyrone without further problems being caused by deliberate criminal damage to Royal Mail property."
Referring to a picture on the group's website which shows an activist painting a postbox while wearing an Arsenal football shirt, Mr Buchanan added: "Members loudly proclaiming their Irishness whilst proudly wearing the football shirt of a team founded by workers at the Royal Arsenal in London help demonstrate the rather pathetic political ideology followed by their members but will also hopefully help identify those involved in these acts of criminal damage."
Up to 50 postboxes in Tyrone including ones in Coalisland, Carrickmore, Clonoe, Cappagh, Loughmacrory, Gortin Main Street, Greencastle and Mountfield have been painted green.
Two years ago, the youth branch of Sinn Fein ran a province-wide campaign in which they painted more than 100 postboxes green.
Tyrone organiser Barry McColgan claimed they only did it in nationalist or republican areas where he claimed local residents preferred their postboxes to be green.
He said Royal Mail have not yet repainted all the postboxes red, and said green postboxes remain in areas of Armagh, Belfast, London-derry and Fermanagh.
A spokeswoman for Royal Mail confirmed that a "number of postboxes had been painted green".
"Repairs to letterboxes, which includes repainting, will be carried out as part of our on-going maintenance programme," she said.
A spokeswoman for the PSNI said they had not received any complaints about the repainted postboxes.
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Sunday 27 May 2012
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