'DOZENS' of UDA flags have been erected in south Belfast in recent days, including one outside a local primary school it has emerged.
The SDLP's Donal Lyons said paramilitary flags have been put up across the local area, including at the entrance to Taughmonagh Primary School and outside Taughmonagh Community Forum Resource Centre.
Mr Lyons described the appearance of the UDA flags as "outrageous" and shows there are some who continue to act as if they’re "beyond the law".
“There can be no purpose in hanging these flags other than to glorify the terrorist acts of the past, and claim control of an area in the present," he said.
"The fact that these UDA flags have been put up at the entrance to a primary school and outside the local community centre where young children will be forced to pass under them is particularly outrageous. There is no justification for these flags to be up and no reason that they should stay up."
“The PSNI have indicated previously that they will not remove the flags due to a lack of political consensus. As we appear to have political agreement that paramilitary flags should not fly then surely we will see these flags being taken down? I believe that should happen immediately and would call on other parties in Balmoral to stick to their previously stated positions," he added.
Last month a community group linked to the east Belfast UVF became the first organisation since the loyalist flags protests to agree a flags protocol. The East Belfast Community Initiative (EBCI) said only legal flags will be flown in public spaces, with limits also placed on the months they will be displayed before being taken down.
