AS UVF flags remain flying outside Windsor Park football stadium ahead of an imminent Euro qualifier a local rep has called for them to be taken down.
Northern Ireland are due to play Kazakhstan at Windsor on June 19.
South Belfast Alliance Councillor Emmet McDonough-Brown has called for those who erected the flags to take them down.
“There is no place for flags or any other insignia from proscribed terrorist organisations on our streets," he said.
“I call on those who erected these flags to remove them immediately and the organisations they represent to disband and leave the stage once and for all.”
The Irish FA say that the land on which the flags have been erected is not owned by the association and is therefore outside its jurisdiction. But the responsible body, the Department for Infrastructure (DfI), has refused to commit to taking the flags down.
A spokesperson for the DfI said: “The problem of illegal flags and emblems on street furniture is a persistent one that requires a comprehensive and lasting solution.
I can take the fleg rubbish but over the years the proliferation of organised crime gang flags has been exponential. Imagine a tourist driving the outer ring road (The Dub towards Bangor) in Belfast today what impression does it give?https://t.co/ZvZUq4KRWJ
— PatrickOA187 (@PatrickOA187) June 5, 2023
"Article 87 of the Roads (NI) Order 1993 makes it an offence to attach unauthorised signs or advertisements to structures such as lampposts.
"One of the Department’s primary considerations is the safety of the public and where unauthorised flags or attachments pose a hazard to road users, the Department will seek to remove that danger.
"Where there is no such danger, the Department will liaise closely with other key stakeholders and seek to provide a solution.”
The police have similarly refused to become involved.
PSNI Assistant Chief Constable Bobby Singleton said: “Within the current statutory framework, the removal of flags is not the responsibility of the Police Service nor do we have a specific power to do so and we will only act to remove flags where there are assessed risks to public safety owing to their erection.
“We are aware that this is a sensitive issue for the whole community and there is no easy solution. There is no community or political consensus on the flags issue and ultimately this requires a political not a policing resolution.
“Our experience shows the most effective solution to this issue is negotiation, mediation and engagement between local communities working with agencies including local police.
“We will continue to work with local communities and partners to find long term solutions to the issues surrounding the flying of flags.”
