Foster accused of bizarre bid to stop Pride flag flying
SINN Fein has described a claim from Arlene Foster that an attempt to fly a Pride flag at a council building was a Republican rouse to remove the Union flag as “bizarre”.
DUP leader Mrs Foster made the claim as she defended her party colleagues in Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council (ABC) for effectively blocking the erection of the rainbowcoloured flag at a council building on Saturday.
Councillors had already voted to fly the flag at the weekend, to coincide with the annual Pride Day in the region, but DUP members triggered a procedural mechanism on Tuesday, claiming proper process had not been followed.
The “call-in” mechanism, which needs the backing of 15 per cent of councillors, requires officials to seek legal advice on a course of action before proceeding. As such legal processes are not set to be completed by Saturday, it is unlikely the Pride flag will now fly as voted for.
Mrs Foster said the DUP move was not about Pride, but about concerns the Union flag would be taken down from outside the building. Sinn Fein dismissed the argument, saying there was more than one flagpole at the council.
Mrs Foster told Radio Ulster: “As I understand it the issue is not about Pride, the issue is about that the policy in the ABC Council is only to fly the Union flag and the Armed Forces Day flag, which of course contains the Union flag, and colleagues in ABC Council area felt this was a rouse by Republicans to remove our national flag, and it’s not about respect or Pride at all.”
Sinn Fein vice president Michelle O’neill said: “Their attitude towards the LGBT community is epitomised by their disgraceful attempts to prevent the erection of a Rainbow flag from a civic building and Arlene Foster’s defence of that was bizarre.”