BANNERS depicting republican attacks erected in mixed housing developments have been condemned by the husband of a Protestant woman killed in the Shankill bombing.
The banners were put up by loyalists at Cantrell Close and Global Crescent in Belfast at the weekend.
They refer to republican attacks during the Troubles resulting in multiple deaths including the 1993 Shankill bomb which killed nine Protestants and one IRA man.
Other incidents include the Kingsmill shootings of 10 Protestant workmen in Co Armagh in 1976 and the 1987 Enniskillen Poppy Day blast.
None of the banners make any reference to attacks carried out by loyalist paramilitary groups.
There was controversy last year when loyalist flags were erected in the Cantrell Close area.
Several Catholic families later fled their homes after loyalist threats.
Flags were removed from Ravenhill Avenue, near Global Crescent, last month by a group calling itself East Belfast Community Initiative, which later published an agreed flags protocol.
While some relatives of people killed in the Shankill bomb welcomed the banners, others have said they should be removed.
Alan McBride, whose wife Sharon and father-in-law Desmond Frizzell were killed, said “there has to be a better way than this whataboutery”.
Mr McBride said the Executive-sponsored housing developments represented a new approach to shared living in the north.
“When I first heard about this shared development it represented the new Northern Ireland, people just wanting to get on together and living their lives."
He added that remembering the past should be done in “collective way”.
“All we seem to remember is what they did to us but not what we did to them,” he said.
Gina Murray, who lost her daughter Leanne (13) in the Shankill bomb, said "the banners will serve as a reminder of what has been happening in this country and it highlights the murders, the actions of the IRA and maybe we can demand justice from it".
Former flag protester Jamie Bryson also defended the banners on Twitter.
“The banners purposefully depict images that are commonly used on TV, in newspapers and which have been on murals.
“There’s an imbalance on legacy issues and it’s important unionist victims are not forgotten or that perpetrators are not equated with victims.”
But John McLean, chief executive of Radius Housing which oversees the development, said: the banners "should not have been erected and should be removed immediately".
"There was no consultation with the people who live in this area and the imagery used is not appropriate for a shared living scheme which is home to families from all backgrounds.
"We strongly feel that this is not an appropriate way to display events of the past."
Mr McLean added that the PSNI has been contacted.
SDLP assembly member Claire Hanna said the banners “are designed to achieve nothing more than stirring up tension and intimidating residents”.
Sinn Féin MLA Máirtín Ó Muilleoir said he has requested an urgent meeting of statutory agencies to respond to “ongoing attempts by loyalists to use flags and banners to intimidate and harass Catholic and nationalist residents of the constituency”.
Green MLA Claire Bailey and Alliance councillor Michael Long also called for the banners to be removed.
Chief Inspector David Moore said “police will only act to remove flags or banners if there are substantial risks to public safety”.
