SDLP figures shy away from backing party colleague’s demand for PSNI to be condemned over George Floyd rally

SDLP figures have declined to back a call from one of the party’s leading officials to condemn the PSNI.
Lilian Seenoi-Barr at the Londonderry protestLilian Seenoi-Barr at the Londonderry protest
Lilian Seenoi-Barr at the Londonderry protest

Lilian Seenoi-Barr, programme director for a charity called the North West Migrants Forum (NWMF), was among those who drew up a statement slamming the police for their actions at Londonderry’s “justice for George Floyd” rally last Saturday.

As well as her role at the charity, Ms Seenoi-Barr is also the chairwoman of the SDLP’s north west Executive, and unsuccessfully stood as a council candidate in 2019.

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Her group, the NWMF, organised the protest despite repeated warnings that it was in breach of coronavirus rules and may pose a health hazard.

The police issued 57 fines to protestors and Ms Seenoi-Barr was cautioned.

Afterwards a statement jointly prepared by her, the charity’s board, and its members, demanded an “apology” from police and called on all politicians in Londonderry to “condemn the PSNI”.

UUP, DUP and Alliance figures on the council have already refused to back her calls for condemnation.

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Now SDLP MLA for the area Mark H Durkan has likewise shied away from her demand to condemn the police.

He told the News Letter that “emotions were running high, and are running high” over Mr Floyd’s killing by a policeman on May 25 in Minnesota.

He said the police’s actions at the Londonderry protest had been “disproportionate”, questioning why a larger number of fines were handed out there than at the Belfast protest which took place at the same time.

Asked how it was “disproportionate” given the many warnings police had issued beforehand, Mr Durkan said that people felt like they had been “criminalised for standing up for what they believe is right.”

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Asked straight up if he condemns the police, he said: “This whole situation could’ve been handled better. I must also say I have a degree of sympathy for the police in terms of them trying to enforce legislation that is not particularly clear or consistent.”

Councillor Martin Reilly, SDLP group leader, when also asked plainly if he condemns the police, said: “I’m not going to answer something without first of all having spoken to the party press office.”

The News Letter had in fact already spoken to the press office on Thursday; a press officer said they would speak to Colum Eastwood, but no response was ever forthcoming.

Meanwhile the News Letter can also reveal the Charity Commission is now considering looking into NWMF.

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The commission’s guidance says trustees must make sure their charity acts in accordance with the law, including health and safety law.

The commission said: “I can confirm that the matter has been referred to our enquiries team to consider further.”

Charity accounts show the NWMF was funded in 2019 overwhelmingly from two sources – the Big Lottery (a non-departmental public body) and The Executive Office.

Together they provided about £133,000 of its roughly £149,000 funds. About £112,000 of that was spent on “Wages and Pension Costs” and “Other Program Costs”.

WHO IS LILIAN SEENOI-BARR?:

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Lilian Seenoi-Barr is in her late 30s and came to Northern Ireland from Kenya as an asylum seeker in December 2010.

She founded the North West Migrants Forum in 2012.

Asked about the nature of her asylum claim by the News Letter, she refused to discuss it, telling the paper to look elsewhere for information about it.

In 2010, the IMF stated that “Kenya has acquired a deserved reputation as one of the most stable states in Africa”.

It added that whilst there had been some political violence, ethnic clashes, and other disturbances, “the state has managed to keep all of these in check”.

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A video posted online by the Women on the Move Awards in 2014 features Ms Seenoi-Barr saying she is a member of the Maasai group in Kenya, and that she started what she described as a “rescue” programme for Maasai girls “to empower them and take them to school”.

She said: “I managed to rescue over 5,000 girls in five years.”

She went on: “The elders in the community were not happy at all with my work, and I started receiving a lot of threats and I had to leave.”

The SDLP said that “upon arriving in Derry she struggled to integrate due to the lack of services and support”.

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She went on to stand for election in 2019 for Derry City and Strabane District Council, but failed to win a seat, being narrowly beaten to the last post by independent Sean Carr.

After her defeat, two months later in July she was elected to serve as chairwoman of the party’s Derry & Strabane District Executive.

READ MORE ABOUT RACIAL PROTESTS IN NORTHERN IRELAND:

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