Symbols and emblems promote division rather than respect

Symbols and emblems are taken seriously in Northern Ireland. They are an indispensable element of political, cultural and religious traditions for unionists and loyalists, nationalists and republicans. The British Union Jack, the red and white Ulster flag created by the Northern Ireland government in 1953 and the many flags associated with loyalist paramilitaries and Orange culture have been synonymous with unionism since the partition of Ireland in 1921. The Government of Northern Ireland, prorogued in 1972, decreed that the Union flag should fly on government buildings and RUC stations on public holidays and royal occasions including the 12 July when Protestants celebrate the Battle of the Boyne. Nationalists and republicans felt alienated from this government sanctioned practice and on the occasions when they flew the tricolour, the national flag of the Republic of Ireland, riots often occurred as the RUC attempted to remove it.