CHIEF Constable John Boutcher says he’s talking to the key British government adviser on ‘terrorism’ about the possibility of “additional legislation” allowing police to take down flags supporting paramilitary organisations.
While welcome, the news indicates that Mr Boutcher is approaching this vexed issue from a much too restrictive perspective – one that has been all too typical of people from Britain appointed to key positions here. Because while the disappearance of paramilitary flags from lampposts would be an extremely welcome and important step on the journey to demilitarising this society, flags supporting the IRA, the UVF and the UDA are only one part of this equation. Flags indicating support for British state actors must also be in the mix when it comes to any consideration of how symbols can be used to hurt and divide.
The flag of the Parachute Regiment being flown in Derry is perhaps the most salient example, but it’s far from the only one. Flags of the SAS and the UDR also have the potential to upset and traumatise victims of those deeply controversial regiments.
In the end, it all comes down to geography and context. Moving from Derry to Belfast, a loyalist paramilitary flag will give little or no cause for concern in the Woodvale/Shankill district; but move that flag closer to the Ardoyne roundabout and it’s immediately clear that that is something that the police should and could become involved in. Similarly, flags supporting republican paramilitary groups will not raise an eyebrow in the Andersonstown/Falls district generally, but have in the past been rightly criticised when erected at peacelines or outside the RVH.
Any legislation which is aimed solely at paramilitary displays will not be worth the white paper it’s printed on. Any future law cannot be narrowly proscriptive, but must address wider issues of sensitivity and legacy. Mr Boutcher and British government advisers will have very different views on the British army from the people of the Bogside or Ballymurphy, but any attempt to deny the simple fact that British army flags are viewed with precisely the same distaste as UVF and UDA flags by nationalists and republicans will be doomed to failure. Will the PSNI really be removing UDA/UVF flags from, say, Finaghy crossroads, but doing nothing if the flag erectors bypass the law by putting up Parachute Regiment or UDR flags? If that were to be the case, the new legislation would be seen to be a laughing stock in a matter of days.
Unionist politicians who stay shamefully quiet on the proliferation of UDA and UVF imagery in their constituencies have in the past been pictured under Parachute Regiment banners, with little or no thought for the victims of that notorious gang. That cannot be allowed to continue, any more than the tolerance of inflammatory flashpoint flags can be allowed to continue.
It’s a complex issue which demands sensitivity and political nous. Over to you, Chief Constable.
