Cllr Anthony Flynn condemns City Hall hate speech incident & calls for prevention of repeat performance

February 22, 2021 1 min read

Monday 22 February 2021

Green Party Belfast City Councillor Anthony Flynn has commented emerge after footage was published of an individual delivering hate speech from the grounds of Belfast City Hall.

Councillor Anthony Flynn said:

"The hate speech delivered from the grounds of Belfast City Hall must be condemned and a repeat performance prevented.

"Belfast must be a city for all and our City Hall should be a safe space and a visible symbol of the transition that our people have made towards peace, tolerance and progress.

“The incursion onto the grounds of City Hall and the hate speech that was delivered violated so many of our citizens. There are two issues to deal with here. Firstly, the grounds of City Hall are closed because of the pandemic and I've contacted Council Officers to ensure that security is maintained, and this stunt isn't repeated.

"Secondly, the right to free speech is no defence for hate speech. The sentiment expressed in the grounds of City Hall has the potential to cause deep hurt and harm. Hate preachers have blighted our City Centre for some time now and violated the right of people to enjoy the public space.

"This incident represents an escalation of the campaign to use our civic space to abuse others. This is a nasty, tiny but very noisy element of our society. There is a security response needed from Belfast City Council. But, there is a separate and wider community response which involves respecting eachother, showing kindness and treating people with dignity and respect."

ENDS

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