Anger as SF veto Stormont centenary stone
UNIONIST parties have slammed a Sinn Fein “veto” of a proposal to install a stone at Stormont to mark the centenary of Northern Ireland.
In a joint statement, the DUP, UUP and TUV said they submitted a proposal to the Assembly Commission for a centenary stone to permanently mark the date within the “curtilage of Parliament Buildings”.
Sinn Fein said the proposed centenary stone “reflects only one political perspective”.
In a joint statement, DUP leader Arlene Foster, UUP leader Steve Aiken and TUV leader Jim Allister said the stone would not have cost any public money.
“We are dismayed by the refusal of the Commission to permit this project, which would not have cost the public purse as our respective parties and MLAS were committed to funding it,” they said.
They have claimed the refusal arose after Sinn Fein vetoed the proposal.
“This is the party that talks most about respect for all communities, but when a modest proposal was made on behalf of the wider unionist community it was callously vetoed,” they said.
A Sinn Fein spokesperson said unionist parties should have first discussed the proposal for the centenary stone with other political parties.
“Such an approach to the centenary of partition could embrace the very different perspectives of that event and how best to reflect these perspectives in an inclusive and respectful manner,” they said.
“Unfortunately, the proposed stone has been designed and commissioned by representatives of one tradition and reflects only one political perspective.”