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DUP Assembly member claims Bogside mural in Derry is glorifying violence

The "Unfinished Revolution" mural in Derry's Bogside.
The "Unfinished Revolution" mural in Derry's Bogside. The "Unfinished Revolution" mural in Derry's Bogside.

THE DUP has been accused of being selective in its criticism after it condemned a republican “unfinished revolution” mural in Derry’s Bogside.

The mural at the offices of the Irish Republican Prisoners’ Welfare Association (IRPWA) has been criticised as promoting violence.

Staff at the office yesterday declined to respond.

However, Derry independent councillor, Gary Donnelly, accused DUP assembly member, Gary Middleton, of ignoring loyalist and unionist murals in Derry.

Mr Donnelly said many murals in loyalist areas glorified the “violence” of the British army.

The mural - on a gable wall on an alleyway off Derry’s Chamberlain Street – depicts two republican paramilitaries, one armed with an RPG rocket launcher and the other with a rifle. The mural is headlined with the words “Unfinished Revolution.”

Mr Middleton said: “This is not the first republican group to glorify violence and terrorism and they are no more likely to succeed in their aims than others.”

Last month, police rejected a claim that another sign in Derry was a hate crime.

The IRA recruitment sign at the junction of Lone Moor Road and Westland Street in the city’s Bogside shows a masked IRA gunman with the words “Unfinished Revolution, Join the IRA, Unfinished Business.”