Series of hate displays in north of Ireland tacitly condoned by DUP

In recent weeks, far-right actors in loyalist areas of the north of Ireland have unleashed a spate of racist and Islamophobic murals, banners and graffiti. The response of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), who have a heavy presence in these areas, has been to remain mute or even challenge police when they remove such displays.

The banners have at times been comical in their ineptitude, like the incoherent AI-generated mural put up by Concerned Parents Newtownabbey (CPN), previously covered by the Canary. There is a serious side too, however, in the hostile sentiment such displays show towards Muslims. The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) took action against it, cautioning two men for:

…criminal damage to a property and displaying offensive material.

To his credit, Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) councillor Robert Foster made attempts to have the mural taken down, showing up the DUP.

The PSNI also regard a second mural nearby by CPN as a “hate incident”. Another Islamophobic, AI generated abomination, it again reveals its creators have no decency, creativity or adequate explanation for social decline. It depicts a church on fire, with triumphant, militaristic-looking men in the foreground. The mural is captioned:

Islam is heathen, Islam is satanic. Islam is a doctrine spawned in Hell.

Hateful mural backs infamous racist Enoch Powell

It also says “Enoch Powell was right in 1968” referencing Powell’s deranged, racist ‘Rivers of blood’ speech from that year. In it, the serially incorrect reactionary hallucinated about how in Britain, 15 or 20 years from then:

…the black man will have the whip hand over the white man.

So clearly, demonstrably, Powell was not right, and neither are his modern-day equivalents in Newtownabbey with their own deranged nonsense. In Britain, people of colour remain the most victimised, and white supremacy is on the rise.

More concerning is the actively threatening graffiti that has appeared in other areas of Newtownabbey, a large suburban sprawl on the outskirts of Belfast. One in Abbots Cross sprayed on shop shutters says:

Locals only 1 warning will be burt [sic] out.

For those who don’t speak racist, that’s a barely legible threat to torch the homes of migrants in the area. It also serves as a warning to landlords who might provide their properties to new arrivals to the country. Racists have plastered similar material in nearby Rathcoole. They put up a poster saying:

Take notice. Anyone facilitating the settlement of Muslims or illegals in our areas will be held responsible. We are watching.

Alongside it is a bullseye symbol and the words “All NIHE staff are targets.” This is in reference to the Northern Ireland Housing Executive, which manages housing in the Six Counties. The Canary spoke to activists who closely monitor far-right activity, who explained the graffiti is very likely linked to loyalist paramilitaries. As such, it carries real menace and the threat of violence being used to enforce discriminatory housing policy outside the law.

PSNI remove anti-Muslim hate banner, DUP demand explanation

Hatemongers put up another vile banner in the County Tyrone village of Moygashel. Training their children in racism, they put the display beside a children’s playground. It features on one side a brightly lit, supposedly idyllic all-white depiction of local life. On the other, a darkly lit scene of sinister looking dark-skinned men, with a steward preventing them from entering the play park.

Rather than condemn the revolting creation, DUP councillor Clement Cuthbertson has been trying to hold the PSNI to account for removing it. He demanded a:

…full explanation regarding the circumstances surrounding the removal of the banner.

His implication is clearly that the police may have erred by taking away the monstrosity. It is part of a pattern for his party, who have offered no meaningful criticism of any of the above. As End Deportations Belfast recently reported, the DUP have even had the temerity to harangue anti-racist activists during Stormont consultations. This, instead of tackling the real issue which is the out of control levels of racist hate crime in the north of Ireland.

Migrant communities and people of colour are currently “stockpiling food in [their] homes” due to fears over potential hate crimes. The far-right are clearly ramping up for a summer of terrorising these groups, and feel emboldened in their messaging by the absence of condemnation from influential unionist politicians.

It would be tempting to ask the police to step in and use the big censorship stick to take down every message hostile to Muslims, migrants and people of colour. However, emboldening the state to clamp down on speech always has more severe implications for the left, and is a dangerous principle to endorse in general.

Fundamentally this is a long-standing cultural problem in loyalist communities, and it needs addressed at a deep level long before police involvement is even necessary.

Featured image via Charles McQuillan/Getty Images

By Robert Freeman

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