Statement by TUV leader Jim Allister:
“The recent toppling of a statue of slave-trader and philanthropist Edward Colston in Bristol and calls for similar action across the UK, including Northern Ireland, should cause us all to pause for a moment and think. The statue in Bristol was not removed because that was the conclusion of a rational debate. It was removed by a lawless rabble.
“We certainly shouldn’t be contracting out changes to who gets to be remembered in the public square to the mob.
“Even those who support the removal of statues should consider the implications of this. What if someone else gets a crowd together to remove a statue they take exception to because of some view or option they held which is very un-pc in the 21st century?
“There is something deeply ironic about Sinn Fein now calling for the removal of a statue to Irish nationalist and prominent champion of slavery John Mitchell. Just a few short weeks ago Mary Lou McDonald was defending unveiling a statue of Sean Russell, possibly the only statue to a Nazi collaborator in Europe. Do they now think it should come down or are Republicans only ashamed of the 19th-century racists in their history like John Mitchell – whose statue strangely stood unmolested in Newry during 30 years when the IRA had no problem blowing up many things – and for that matter many people?
“But if we want to discuss memorials which should come down let’s not look at the trendy targets. Let’s think about those memorials which cause offence to people who are still suffering from the actions of individuals who are commemorated on our doorstep. There are many memorials to terrorists which blight our landscape and cause deep hurt and offence. Why have councils, Road Service and the planning service repeatedly failed to prevent the erection of these memorials and turned a blind eye once they were up?
“Indeed, if Republicans are now ashamed of John Mitchell some might think it very odd that they continue to defend a play park named after someone linked to mass sectarian murder which also happens to be situated in Newry.
“Let’s too not forget those who remain un-commemorated. I think particularly of the memorial to the victims of the Enniskillen bombing which remains in storage, three years after it was officially unveiled. Why is that memorial still not where it rightly belongs?
“The Government cannot allow this to continue. There are even calls for Churchill’s statue to come down, a monument to the man who played a pivotal role in saving us from the most racist ideology the world has ever seen!”