Durkan calls for action on violence posters

SDLP Foyle MLA Mark H Durkan, has condemned graffiti and the erection of posters or banners which advocates violence within the North.
By The Newsroom
Published 2nd Aug 2019, 08:32 BST
Foyle SDLP MLA Mark H Durkan.Foyle SDLP MLA Mark H Durkan.
Foyle SDLP MLA Mark H Durkan.

He has called upon all sections of society to take action, to promote and renew the commitment to peace and prosperity on this island.

Mr Durkan said: “I would reiterate the demands made in the recent motion brought by SDLP to Derry City and Strabane District council, urging DfI to remove paramilitary flags and offensive banners from its street furniture. Going one step further, I believe any offensive item including posters and graffiti which has the clear intention of provocation and intimidation, should be removed. Regardless of whether it is a flag glorifying the Parachute Regiment or a banner promoting paramilitaries.

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“Clearly DfI have a duty of care but Council, the PSNI and indeed communities have a vital role to play as well. The removal of such imagery on our streets requires a multi-agency approach and public backing.”

Mr. Durkan said that any item which incites hatred and heightens tensions between communities is neither wanted nor supported here.

“There is a tendency to become desensitised when we are bombarded daily by propaganda and warnings from anonymous figures- whose sole purpose is to promote hatred, romanticise violence and dredge up the ugliness of our past. But their presence, indeed their continued tolerated presence, only serves to drag us backwards,” the Foyle MLA said.