'˜No strategic purpose' to anti-St Patrick's protest: ex-DUP councillor Patterson
A prominent supporter of the flag protests has called for no loyalist demonstration in Belfast on St Patrick's Day.
Councillor Ruth Patterson said it would be a “great disservice” to unionism at large if protestors were to imitate nationalists by staging a gathering in opposition to another community’s culture – something which could allow them to be “portrayed as purposefully seeking to be offended”.
Councillor Patterson – who was expelled by the DUP late in 2015 – had recently announced she will stand for the Assembly in the upcoming May elections.
A call for a “union flag vigil” at Belfast City Hall had been made on the ‘Loyal Peoples Protest’ Facebook site.
It said the event would run from 1pm on March 17 to 1am the following morning.
The message had been posted last Wednesday – the same day that the website had carried a message from the independent south Belfast councillor (whom the website described as “our Ulster lady”), in which she thanked readers for their support.
Although the widespread flag protests which began in late 2012 petered out over several months, small-scale Saturday gatherings at the City Hall have been seen since.
In a statement on Tuesday, councillor Patterson said: “I believe that protest is a form of drawing attention to the issue about which you protest, but ultimately grievances can only be properly addressed and changes made via the democratic political process.
“With that in mind I would encourage the organisers of the St Patrick’s day protest to rethink their plans and divert their energy into seeking to make a change via the democratic process.”
She commended those who had taken part in flag protests and advised those who are still engaged in such activity to “divert that energy” into politics.
She added: “I do not think there is a strategic or political purpose in organising a protest on St Patrick’s day.
“Given unionism regularly articulates opposition to pop-up nationalist protests, which are designed to make expressions of unionist culture contentious, I think it would do a great disservice to unionism in general if our community were to be portrayed as purposefully seeking to be offended.”
In the past month, two loyalist protests have been mooted in the city centre, but turned out to be tiny, or non-existent.
An anti-refugee protest organised by the Protestant Coalition on December 5 attracted only a small smattering of protestors.
And on January 5, another Protestant Coalition-promoted protest over a suggested joint reception for the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland football squads saw a number of police officers turn up at the City Hall, only to be met with no protestors.