THE placing of a banner paying tribute to a notorious loyalist killer gang on a West Belfast bonfire has drawn widespread criticism.
The Protestant Action Force (PAF) banner has been placed on a bonfire in the Cupar Way area on the Falls/Shankill peaceline.
PAF was a cover name used by loyalists, mainly the UVF, to avoid directly claiming responsibility for killings during the Troubles.
SDLP councillor Carl Whyte has called for its removal.
"This flag represents an illegal front organisation for the UVF, and its placement on a bonfire on the Shankill is further evidence of the influence that paramilitary groups continue to exert in working-class communities in parts of Belfast," he said.
"The PSNI’s response will, in all likelihood, be to do nothing, allowing these and other organised criminal groups to continue exploiting local communities while lining their own pockets.
"The flag should, of course, be removed. Unfortunately, based on past experience, it is unlikely that any action will be taken."
People Before Profit MLA Gerry Carroll added: "Year after year, our communities are subjected to environmentally-destructive bonfires that put homes at risk and drive sectarian division. This one goes further still, by flaunting the flag of a sectarian murder gang. Offensive paramilitary displays like this have no place in West Belfast, or anywhere else.
"Displaying a Protestant Action Force flag is a clear breach of the Terrorism Act. But it's telling that this legislation goes unenforced when it comes to the emblems of paramilitaries who colluded with murderous state forces, while the PSNI has referred scores of files on Palestine Action activists, whose only 'crime' is standing against genocide, to the Public Prosecution Service. That is a clear example of selective, two-tier policing.
"We are facing another summer with the grim prospect of further sectarian and racist violence. These displays of hate have no place in our society, and the state cannot keep looking the other way."
