NI Conservatives’ spokesman, Trevor Ringland, has warned parties in Belfast City Council not to put the Cenotaph at the heart of a political row over flags.
“Quite properly the Union Flag is flown from government buildings on Remembrance Sunday, which is a designated day, and from the Cenotaph at the City Hall. Remembrance is a solemn and reflective act, observed not just in the United Kingdom, but in countries across the world which have been affected by the horrors of war. In recent years the Republic of Ireland too has begun to honour the sacrifice of its war dead, particularly on Remembrance Sunday.”
“The Cenotaph, where we remember the sacrifices of others and reflect upon the folly of war, should never be used as a pawn in a party political game. It would be quite wrong to see it as a ‘plan B’ to keep the Union Flag flying at City Hall 365 days of the year. Indeed to pursue that aim in the current climate diminishes the flag and also debases and politicises a place of remembrance.”
“The Union flag does not belong to a political party, nor does the Cenotaph. NI Conservatives will oppose any attempt to drag a place of remembrance into a party political debate. Any attempt to do so, by the DUP or any other party, would be foolish and short-sighted.”