In the News Letter of Wednesday, January 23, the Chief Commissioner
of the 'Equality Commission' Bob Collins, stated that the
Commission did not intend to 'wipe the face of Britishness
from Northern Ireland.'
Whether or not that is the intention of the Commission (
I believe it is ) it is certainly the reality of what is happening.
The people of Northern Ireland see what is happening in their
own areas every day. They have seen the removal of the symbols
of Britishness from police stations, fire stations, courthouses,
government buildings, and now there is a concerted attempt
by the Equality Commission to remove them from all council
offices.
Equality Commission publications are now referring disapprovingly
to the flying of the Union Flag on the 12th of July and it
seems clear therefore that they do have further targets in
their sights.
The Equality Commission hides behind allegedly independent
research. The problem is that this research is not independently
commissioned.
For instance there is much research about the perceptions
of the Nationalist community on the flying of the Union Flag
by local councils but no effective research has been commissioned
by the Equality Commission about the perceptions of the Unionist
community on the use of Irish Language by local councils.
I wonder has any genuinely independent group ever conducted
any research into the perceptions of the Equality Commission
by the Protestant community.
Yours faithfully
Drew Nelson LLB
Grand Secretary.
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