DUP MLA hits out at dissident group Saoradh for flying the flag of the Islamic Republic of Iran
A DUP MLA has hit out at the raising of an Iranian flag by dissident republican group Saoradh.
The organisation put the flag on display in Newry as a symbol of solidarity with the Islamist regime, which is currently locked in combat with Israel – largely in an attempt to stop Tehran from developing a nuclear bomb.
In 2018, then-chief constable George Hamilton was quoted telling the BBC that "Saoradh is the political voice of the New IRA". Saoradh has denied this.
Newry and Armagh DUP MLA William Irwin told the News Letter: "Iran has been a state sponsor of terrorism over many decades. The display of an Iranian flag by anyone is nothing more than yet another show of support for terrorism.
"Such flags appear to be erected by those who have no problem in supporting terrorism much close to home.
"Those praising or supporting the Iranian regime either ignore the litany of human rights abuses in that country or just don’t care about them.
"This is a country which has suppressed the right to freedom of association and peaceful assembly. There is no freedom of the press and journalists are regularly imprisoned.
"It may be of course that the republicans who erect flags in support of Iran actually see the country as an example to follow."
The dissident republican group posted its support for Iran on its Facebook page 'Irish Revolutionary News' this week as hostilities between the nation and Israel increased.
Above a picture showing a silhouetted masked man with an assault rifle and the flags of Palestine and Iran, the group wrote: "Saoradh extends its full and unwavering solidarity to the Iranian people and their leadership as they confront the latest in a long series of provocations by the illegitimate Israeli entity…
"The same forces that occupy Palestine and target Iran include those that still hold the Six Counties under British rule. We share a common enemy and a common cause."
It ended by saying "we salute the steadfastness of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, its armed forces, and its people".
It later posted up a picture of an Iranian flag flying above a road sign for local tourist attractions on the Camlough Road in Newry, next to a tricolour on a lamppost.
"Saoradh activists in Newry have raised the flag of the Islamic Republic of Iran in a public act of solidarity," it said in an accompanying message.
"In a further act of solidarity Saoradh have delivered a statement to the Iranian Embassy in Dublin expressing our support without apology of the right of Iran and the wider Axis of Resistance to defend itself."
According to the most recent country report from Human Rights Watch, Iranian authorities "severely restrict freedoms of assembly and expression", and engage in "systematic repression" of religious minorities and "discrimination" against ethnic minorities.
In addition "women face deep discrimination" and the government recently "intensified efforts to enforce compulsory hijab laws" (the mandatory wearing of a veil in public).
Meanwhile "the civil code allows girls to marry at age 13... and at younger ages if authorized by a judge", "same-sex conduct is punishable by flogging and, for men, the death penalty", and drinking alcohol is punishable by 80 lashes – with execution for repeat offenders.