A BANNER at a children’s play area in Co. Tyrone that was removed by police on Friday has been replaced.
The banner, which showed families in a park while a security guard refuses entry to men wearing turbans, was erected in Moygashel last week.
Police said they were treating it as a hate incident and removed the banner on Friday, however, images shared online showed a replacement banner had been erected by masked individuals.
Sinn Féin MLA Colm Gildernew said the banner only served to ‘sow division in the community’.
The banner was initially erected on a fence at the children’s play area on Friday, May 29.
Following its removal, the PSNI said ‘the placing of the banner is now being investigated as a criminal offence’.
‘Unjustified action’
DUP councillor Clement Cuthertson criticised the police for not seeking council permission to remove the banner, saying the force acted in ‘an irresponsible way to handle the situation’.
However, within a day, a replacement banner had been erected on the fence, with images shared online showing several masked men standing alongside it.
A post on social media by the Moygashel Bonfire Association said the banner was erected due to concerns of parents over ‘uncontrolled immigration’.
”The removal of our child safety banner was not just an unjustified action. It was a provocation,” read the post.
“It was a clear signal that the authorities prioritise their own agenda over the protection of our children and the expressed will of this community.
“When you ignore the genuine, growing fears of the people, you create the very instability you claim to be preventing.”
It added: “We demand that the PSNI stop prioritising the silencing of our concerns and start addressing the reality of what is happening on our streets.
”Make no mistake. what is happening at our park today is the reality coming to yours tomorrow.”
‘Sinister development’
Speaking on Saturday, Fermanagh and South Tyrone MLA Mr Gildernew said political representatives and community leaders needed to call out the re-erection of the banner.
“I would call on all political representatives and community leaders to strongly condemn this banner and call for its immediate removal,” he said.
“This banner has been re-erected solely to sow division in the community.
“And the reported presence of masked men at a children’s park is a sinister development which must also be called out and fully investigated.
“There is no place in our society for racism, it is time to take a stand against division, and to stand up for inclusion and respect.”
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