Emma Little-Pengelly may be ‘a new girl’ to the political stage but she should know better than to attempt to defend the lowest common denominators in our society – the hate mongers who haven’t a political aspiration in their heads other than to demonise those who dare to claim they are Irish/ nationalist and have aspirations to a United Ireland. Who in their right mind, under the banner of freedom, would seek to defend any of the hate-mongering activities that took place at bonfires in the lead up to the Twelfth?
It really is shocking that almost 20 years after the Good Friday Agreement anyone belonging to a major political party should defend the actions of these hate mongers who bear an uncanny similarity to similar hate mongers in the Balkans nearly 30 years ago who claimed freedom in a divided society.
Northern Ireland or the north of Ireland, call it what you may, is no ordinary democracy where there can be scope for the kind of so-called liberal behaviour Ms Pengelly seeks to defend.
We are walking on egg shells trying desperately to navigate our way along a pathway to peace that is fraught with difficulties and that doesn’t need the kind of late night Twitter feed which generates depressing headlines in the media the following day.
Rather than providing arguments in favour of the recent tribalism and sectarianism Ms Pengelly sho uld be shouting from the rafters for a strengthening of the hate
laws to outlaw the kind of disgraceful behaviour that has just taken place.
If, as Ms Pengelly argues, freedom of expression is a two-way street, let her begin by condemning those who used the bonfires to spew out hatred which should have no part of a modern democracy and certainly no part of a healing process in a society which has underwent the most appalling period of slaughter and mayhem representing only failure and that doesn’t need to be defended or indeed – God spare us – repeated.
Emma, who lost her seat in the most recent assembly elections, has just been elected to represent all the people of South Belfast at Westminster in coalition with the Tories. Hardly a good beginning and certainly an embarrassment, if that is possible, for her party’s new found partners.
JOHN DALLAT MLA
Kilrea, Co Derry
Little Pengelly has made it clear where her narrow sympathies lie
The response of newly-elected MP Emma Little Pengelly to the damage caused to apartments at Victoria Square by a precarious bonfire is hopelessly inadequate. To start with, had she in fact been interested in the concerns of residents of the apartments, she would have known that their prime concern is not insurance.
What actually happened on the Eleventh Night is that apartment block residents faced serious danger, concerned at any moment that the damage could extend from broken glass to become a fire engulfing their homes and endangering those living in them, including children. No elected representative should even have to hesitate to recognise that such a situation – brought on solely by the size and location of the bonfire causing the danger – is utterly unacceptable and never to be repeated.
What also happened that night was that the bonfire tipping over seriously endangered fire fighters in attendance and action had to be taken to avoid serious injury. Fire fighters are public servants and again no public representative should have to hesitate before recognising that placing public servants in such danger is not to be tolerated.
This is before we even get to the issue of insurance, with the hassle and future rises in premiums the whole event entails.
As one resident put it, those in the apartments were the victims of this incident – yet they will be left to pay for it. What sort of nonsense is that?
Fundamentally this issue is not about bonfires, but about the basic rule of law. No-one has the right to shirk health and safety regulations at a public event, regardless of what form it takes. No public representative could miss this obvious point.
When she became MP Mrs Pengelly claimed she would represent all. Yet in this instance, and not for the first time in her short tenure, she has chosen to back a tiny minority of irresponsible people over local residents and public servants.
It is becoming clear where her narrow sympathies lie – and they are not with the law-abiding majority.
PAULA BRADSHAW MLA
Alliance, South Belfast
GAA could do more to curb waste issue
After enjoying a fine Ulster final on a glorious day in Clones, it was with some disappointment that I surveyed the waste that cluttered up the town after the match. The stadium itself appeared to have only general waste bins, with no provision for separating the many plastic bottles and ice cream tubs. To round things off, a fellow commuter thought it fit to dispense of their chip wrapper through their window and onto the M1. Most of us may bemoan Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accord and, at best, Brexit is likely to divert attention away from environmental matters until it is sorted out or abandoned, however I cannot help but feel that organisations such as the GAA and, importantly, each of us as individuals could do more to try and curb the ever growing mountain of waste that pollutes our streets and seas. Let’s all of us try and ensure that our own waste is appropriately disposed of and not be above lifting a bottle off the ground to put it in the (recycling) bin.
TERENCE BROWN
Belfast BT6
Selective policing
As a parent of two children who have been resident students in the Holylands area of Belfast I feel bemused by the contrast in the tactics of the PSNI to the student celebrations on St Patrick’s Day compared to their approach to the revellers in Shankill Road, Sandy Row and Lisburn Road on the Twelfth. We are led to believe that the present-day PSNI are an impartial police force, but having seen first hand the heavy-handed abuse handed out to the students – who incidentally might one day in the future eventually contribute to the local economy and society – compared to the kid-glove treatment of the beer drinkers whose biggest ambition is to be a bonfire builder. How the chief constable can justify this different approach baffles me completely.
DAMIEN McGAUGHEY
Omagh, Co Tyrone
Simple questions
Has any one seen or heard from the chief constable of the PSNI? Has he disappeared?
Where is he?
JOSEPH KENNEDY
Dunmurry, Co Antrim
