Statement by Mid Ulster TUV spokesperson Gareth Ferguson:
“Mid Ulster Council’s decision to ban the sale of poppies in council facilities is a gross insult to people right across Mid Ulster and just the latest manifestation of Nationalism pursuing a narrow, partisan agenda which will cause great hurt among the Unionist community.
“Last year a display of Easter lilies and a box marked “Honour Ireland’s Patriot Dead Wear an Easter Lilly” was placed in the reception area of Magherafelt council.
“The entire Mid Ulster area suffered greatly at the hands of the terrorists who are celebrated by those who wear Easter lilies. Yet Republicans were quite prepared to grossly insult ratepayers by that display. Similarly, the ongoing saga surrounding a play park named after a convicted terrorist reminds us of the double standards at play here.
“If Nationalists and Republicans actually spent some time studying real history rather than attempting to re-write it they would know that the poppy is a symbol which all sections of the community could and should embrace. Members of the Nationalist Irish Volunteers fought and died alongside members of the UVF in the battlefields of Europe.
“It is a scandal that this situation has developed and the decision should be reversed immediately.”