Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
MASKED MEN BREAK BAN ON BONFIRES
Safety fears as loyalists ‘defy pyre injunction’
MASKED men appear to have defied a court injunction banning them from extending an Eleventh Night bonfire.
The males, wearing balaclavas and scarves over their faces, were photographed yesterday on top of the huge loyalist pyre in East Belfast.
It comes as the Police Federation expressed its concerns ahead of tonight’s celebrations.
Chair Mark Lindsay warned: “What we don’t want is a drain on already stretched resources.”
SAFETY fears were growing last night after loyalists appeared to defy an injunction banning them from extending a bonfire.
The men, wearing balaclavas and scarves over their faces, could be seen yesterday using a cherry picker to add wooden pallets to the pyre in East Belfast at the centre of a legal storm.
The city council secured a High Court injunction on Friday preventing more materials being added to four loyalist bonfires in Belfast amid health and safety concerns.
However, at Inverary playing fields – one of the sites covered by the injunction – pallets were being added to the pile.
Loyalists in East Belfast have been left angry by the court injunction.
The Northern Ireland Police Federation – the body that represents rank and file officers – warned resources could be stretched amid growing tension around the bonfires.
Chair Mark Lindsay warned: “What we don’t want is a drain on already stretched resources.”
Sinn Fein said it believes all dangerous materials should be removed from the sites in the east of the city by police and the council. However, unionists have accused the party of waging a “cultural war”.
In a joint statement the Democratic Unionist Party and Progressive Unionist Party said there has been an attempt to “discredit” the Twelfth celebrations, and called for calm.
A prominent loyalist – former flag protester Jamie Bryson – warned it could prove difficult “to control young people” if action is taken to remove their bonfires. In recent years there has been concern over the size of the bonfires, many of which are built close to homes and businesses.
In Carrickfergus, Co Antrim, a towering bonfire near a petrol station and along a main road, looks close to toppling over.
Belfast City Council applied for an injunction amid concern about the size of the bonfires at Ravenscroft Avenue car park/bloomfield walkway, Avoniel Leisure Centre car park, Inverary playing fields and Cregagh Park East. Alliance and Sinn Fein councillors claimed the application was supported by all the parties.
The DUP, Ulster Unionists and PUP have not responded to the claim.
Sinn Fein councillor Jim Mcveigh sparked anger with unionists and loyalists on Monday when he said his interpretation of the injunction was the bonfires should not be lit and the material removed from the site.
He added: “They are already too high, too dangerous and too close to public amenities.” Mr Mcveigh claimed the council has a contractor to go on to the sites and remove bonfire material.
However, Belfast City Council would not confirm the claim.
In a statement a spokesman said: “We have a contractor who carries out work at numerous sites but we cannot comment any further due to a confidentiality clause.
“We will review any information relating to any persons allegedly breaching the injunction, and will consider what action is appropriate.”
The DUP and PUP have called for a Cultural Convention in the autumn. In their statement they said this was “to ensure the unionist community can go forward in promoting our culture, heritage and tradition, as well as to ensure our celebrations continue to be bigger, better and more successful than ever before”.
They added: “We must not let our unity of purpose be disrupted or harmed by the actions of those who want to devalue and demean us.
“It is our belief this continued aggression by Sinn Fein and their continuation of a cultural war, is a vain attempt to give their ageing leadership a legacy and to restore their credibility within their own ranks.”