Dear Sir
Your readers should be aware that the so called "Equality
Commission for Northern Ireland" is engaged in a long
term strategy to wipe the face of Britishness from Northern
Ireland.
Their principal target is the Union Flag which it intends
to remove from every Council and Government building right
across the Province.
Last year the "Equality Commission" commissioned
Good Relations Associates to prepare a Challenge Paper on
embedding good relations in Local Government.
The report made 14 key recommendations but the "Equality
Commission" focused on just five, one of which was that
"there is a need to legislate with regards to Flags and
Emblems".
In compiling the Challenge Paper, Good Relations Associates
interviewed representatives of 26 organisations, but significantly
they did not interview representatives of the Orange Order,
the largest community group in Northern Ireland.
The whole thrust of the Flags and Emblems section of the
Challenge Paper is towards the removal of the Union Flag from
Council property with quotes such as "Flags function
to communicate strong if sometimes ambivalent messages. They
are integral to sustaining sectarian violence in Northern
Ireland……" "Flags are associated with
allegiance, loyalty, territory and authority and can be used
to challenge another group, to assert dominance or to seek
a confrontation."
However, not content with banning the flying of the Union
Flag from Council premises in Northern Ireland, the "Equality
Commission" seems determined to ban its use altogether.
The Challenge Paper states (at page 35) that "for example
flying …. the Union Flag in the 12th July Orange Parades
are powerful symbolic messages of exclusion and sustain bitter
divisions and hostility between factions."
We would have thought that it would have been appropriate
for Good Relations Associates to consult with the Orange Order
so that we could explain why we fly the Union Flag in our
Parades before penning such a partial comment in a written
report.
However, that comment is broadly typical of the general thrust
of the Challenge Paper and indeed the Policy of the "Equality
Commission", which is aimed at wiping the face of Britishness
from Northern Ireland.
On the 3rd May 2007 the "Equality Commission" convened
a meeting of the Community Relations Officers from Local Councils
in Northern Ireland at which its staff presented the Good
Relations Associates Challenge Paper and made it clear to
the Council Community Relations Officers what the new agenda
was.
On the 5th June 2007 the "Equality Commission"
convened a meeting with Council Chief Executives and Councillors
"in order to highlight the key findings and recommendations
arising out of the report." The meeting concentrated
on Flags and Emblems and the notes of the meeting indicate
"that these issues could be addressed by strategies and
action plans". "Several delegates supported the
view that legislation was required in order to regulate the
display of Flags and Emblems."
The "Equality Commission" strategy of attacking
the flying of the Union Flag in Northern Ireland can sometimes
seem unstoppable. It has vast resources, and consults only
with those whom it believes will give it a favourable reply.
Its proposals and action plans are not advertised or open
to public consultation. It focuses on, highlights, denigrates
and attacks the symbols of Britishness in Local Government.
By contrast it ignores the bitterly divisive symbols of Irishness
such as the use of the Irish language which is used by some
Local Councils in Northern Ireland to mark out territory and
promote the culture, identity and tradition of one community
by the use of divisive symbolism.
The "Equality Commission" states that it "has
the vision of Northern Ireland as a shared, integrated and
inclusive place, a society where difference is respected and
valued, based on equality and fairness for the entire community."
We ask how does its continuous partial attack on the symbols
of Britishness in Northern Ireland, whilst ignoring the use
of the divisive symbols of Irishness, meet this vision?
The Orange Order speaks for a very large section of the Protestant
community in Northern Ireland. Being British is at the core
of what we stand for and we can assure your readers that we
will vigorously oppose this orchestrated attack on our identity.
Yours faithfully
Robert S. Saulters Grand Master
Edward Stevenson B.Agr. Deputy Grand Master
Canon Dr. S. Ernest Long D.Th., J.P. Senior Grand Chaplain
Drew Nelson LLB Grand Secretary
Mervyn Bishop Grand Treasurer
GRAND ORANGE LODGE OF IRELAND
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