Northern Ireland Secretary Shailesh Vara: Recent events very sad and very disappointing
The new Northern Ireland Secretary Shailesh Vara yesterday told reporters that the events of recent days had been “very sad and very disappointing”.
He was speaking during a visit to Dromore, Co Down, in reference both to republican chants at the Feile and the selling of UVF and Partachute Regiment flags at Saturday’s Apprentice Boys parade in Londonderry.
He said: “What I very much hope is that the vast majority of people in Northern Ireland will take the positive attitude as we move forwards and say this really is something of the past.
“Let’s leave it in the past and let’s move forward as communities working together, living together because that’s the way forward.
“Can I just take this opportunity to say a big thank to the PSNI who are doing a fantastic job in ensuring the safety of all of us from all communities and all backgrounds in Northern Ireland.”
DUP MLA Emma Little-Pengelly called for an urgent investigation around funding from public bodies for Feile an Phobail.
“They are young people, many of them born after the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement and yet we are seeing this type of glorification of terrorism which is absolutely unacceptable,” she told the BBC.
“Shouting about paramilitary organisations, talking about the things they’ve done in the past in such a way, celebrating that, glorifying that, that is never an acceptable form of cultural expression, regardless of whether that is the IRA or any other paramilitary organisation.
“We are in 2022, this is not the Northern Ireland that we need to be building.”
Ms Little-Pengelly said recent comments by Sinn Fein vice president Michelle O’Neill that there was no alternative to violence in the past “was not leadership”.
“I am calling on all political leaders, political representatives from across all parties to say very clearly, and send a very clear message today that all glorification of terrorism is wrong, it has to be called out when it happens,” she added.
Alliance MP Stephen Farry described a “very worrying spate of sectarian incidents over the course of the summer from different sections of the community”, adding “in particular, young people have been swept up into this”.