Republican News · Thursday 30 November 2001

Lisburn takes it down from the mast

Up to 20 loyalists disrupted a meeting of Lisburn District Council on Tuesday night 27 November over the council's proposal to stop flying the Union flag every day of the year.

Under pressure from Sinn Féin, Lisburn Council had to rethink its policy of flying the union flag every day of the year, a practice which is illegal under equality legislation. Sinn Féin has consistently called on the council to stop flying the union flag every day and wrote to the Equality Commission on the matter.

Sinn Féin also accused the Council of sending a clear message to nationalists that the new council offices, opened earlier in the month by the British Queen, was unionist territory if it continued to fly the Union flag all the time.

As Tuesday night's meeting was about to discuss the proposal to stop flying the flag every day, loyalists in the gallery began hurling abuse and shouting threats at the Mayor of Lisburn the UUP's Jim Dillon. Other UUP councillors were also subjected to abuse leading Dillon to describe the events as "yahooism of the highest quality". Dillon accused the DUP of organising the protest.

Among those in the public gallery was the well known Antrim loyalist Mark Harbinson. After the loyalists vented their anger on the unionist councillors the Sinn Féin team on the council were targeted, with the loyalists threatening to kill them. Eventually the RUC/PSNI was called in to clear the gallery and the council continued with its business.

The council voted 14 to 10 to stop flying the Union Flag every day but agreed to fly it for 19 days in the year, including the Twelfth period.

Sinn Féin councillor Paul Butler promised to ensure that Sinn FÈin would continue it's battle to have the rights of nationalists respected by Lisburn Council.