Action against hate bonfires would ‘increase disorder’ – PSNI

Posted by Jim on July 16, 2016

The PSNI police has washed its hands over a series of hate crimes and
other offences at this year’s loyalist ‘Eleventh Night’ bonfires,
calling for “consultation and dialogue” instead of bringing charges
against loyalists.

More than 300 bonfires were lit on Monday night ahead of the Twelfth of
July, the annual Protestant celebration of a historic battle victory
over Catholics.

There was once again a controversy over the display of racist,
paramilitary and sectarian slogans, the burning of election posters of
nationalist politicians and the burning of Irish tricolours and other
flags.

In the most serious incident, a row of terraced houses in the Shankill
area of west Belfast were gutted after a nearby bonfire spread onto the
roofs.

Sinn Fein’s John O’Dowd, whose posters were among those burned on a
bonfire in Portadown which had been billed as a “children’s fun day”,
wrote: “What message does it send out to young people that it is
acceptable to burn images of elected representatives?” The Upper Bann
Assembly member reported the incident to the PSNI as both theft of
election posters and a hate crime.

Michaela Boyle, a Sinn Fein Assembly member of West Tyrone, said she
felt “sadness” at seeing her election posters on a bonfire in
Artigarvan, near Strabane. She said political representative from all
parties needed to “speak out against all forms of hate crime, no matter
how and where it raises its head”.

Sinn Fein’s Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness said “intervention”
on bonfires was now overdue. He tweeted: “Respecting PSNI independence
and judgement on how to deal with these hate crimes, past time when
intervention required.”

But the Assistant PSNI Chief Stephen Martin dismissed these concerns.
“The best way to improve the situation is through consultation; through
dialogue and through partnership,” he said.

He said burning of Sinn Fein councillors on election posters amounted
merely to “theft of paper” and admitted that the PSNI would not take on
the paramilitaries involved.

“Whilst putting an election poster on a bonfire might be very
distressful to the person whose image is on it and the political party
involved might hold very strong feelings about it – the offence in
reality is likely to be the theft of a piece of paper,” he said.

“In considering enforcement action, I have to think about.. the risk
that police intervening would create increased tension and risk of
disorder.”

Unionist politicians were equally dismissive. The DUP’s Edwin Poots even
took a selfie at bonfire in Ballymacash that had been bedecked in
tricolours which were burned. He said he “really couldn’t care less”
about criticism.

And the new DUP ‘communities minister’ Paul Givan posed for photos as he
set stacks of pallets alight in County Tyrone, and refused to comment
afterwards. John O’Dowd branded the picture by Mr Poots “completely
inappropriate”, and also said Mr Givan should be “setting an example as
a minister”.