SDLP North Belfast Councillor Carl Whyte has said that the Alliance Party should be asking Justice Minister Naomi Long to remove a peace wall in the area. It comes after Alliance councillor Sam Nelson brought a motion to Belfast City Council calling for the peace wall in Alexandra Park to be removed. The peace wall is the responsibility of the Department of Justice of which Alliance leader Naomi Long is Minister. Councillor Whyte said: “We would all like to see peace walls removed after engagement with local communities, but I question the decision by Alliance to bring this motion to Belfast City Council – a body with no power to intervene and remove this wall. “This wall is owned by the Department of Justice and the person responsible for the process to remove it is Councillor Nelson’s own party leader – the Justice Minister Naomi Long. The party’s North Belfast MLA has not asked a single question of the Minister on this issue in the Assembly. The Justice Minister and her party colleagues cannot pass the buck on this one. “Instead of making social media videos, sound bites and meaningless motions, Councillor Nelson would be better off requesting a meeting with the Minister to discuss his proposal. The Alliance Party need to do better than this – the public won’t be taken for fools.”
