Would
the SDLP ever fly a nationalist flag?
From IRISH NEWS July 25th, 2000
THE recent decision of the SDLP not to fly the Union Jack over their government
departments on July 12 is to be welcomed. However, I believe that the SDLP
should not have qualified this decision by giving recognition to the flying
of the Union Jack on other designated days of British celebration.
I am not criticising the SDLP for recognising the fact that there are those
in the north of Ireland who regard themselves as British and identify with
the flying of the Union flag.
Nonetheless, the Good Friday agreement, which established the new institutions,
was designed to create a level playing field where equality of treatment
was guaranteed in relation to political, cultural and economic matters.
Therefore, at the outset, mutual respect has to be given to both the unionist
and nationalist traditions. In this context, I believe that the SDLP's position
in relation to the issue of flags and emblems is so far wrong.
The Good Friday agreement acknowledges the sensitivity of the use of symbols
and emblems for public purposes and the need, in particular in creating
the new institutions, to ensure that such symbols are used in a manner which
promotes mutual respect.
If the new institutions are to be inclusive and committed to the promotion
of both traditions, then the issue of flags and emblems needs to be addressed
at the outset.
Recognition of only British symbols and emblems in those ministerial departments
under the SDLP creates the impression that Irish cultural identity has not
got equal status with British identity. In my judgment, a new beginning
cannot truly be achieved unless that section of the people in the north
of Ireland - namely the nationalists - feel able to identify with the new
institutions.
This will not happen when they see the symbols and emblems of only one tradition
displayed by government ministers from their government departments - especially
when those government departments are run by nationalists. Therefore it
is essential that from the outset the issue of flags and emblems is dealt
with in accordance with the Good Friday agreement.
Equality of symbols should be seen to be the visible proof that the GFA
is really about a new beginning. What is even more important for nationalists
is that those parties, who represent their political aspirations and Irish
identity, ensure that they can identify with the new political institutions
and that recognition is given to their Irish ethos and culture.
To do less is to avoid the issue and will only deny nationalists the right
to be, and feel Irish, in what has been up to now a state which has denied
them this right. I believe that the SDLP are wrong to allow the Union flag
to fly over their government buildings without any recognition being given
to the symbols and emblems of the nationalist community by unionists.
This should be seen as an important issue in ensuring that the new institutions
are not seen as identifying with only the British tradition. Flags and emblems
symbolise the way people see and identify themselves with the state they
live in. Up to now nationalists have lived in a state from which they have
been alienated and with which they have been unable to identify.
What the Good Friday agreement shows, if anything, is that the north is
neither exclusively Irish nor British in relation to its people. More important
is unionism's attempt to deny the spirit and letter of the GFA by insisting
that only the Union flag can fly from government buildings. |
