Sectarian stickers on Belfast lamppost reported to PSNI

DUP MLA Trevor Clarke has reported sectarian stickers on a Belfast lamppost to the PSNI after one showed a mock execution with a message urging a shooting. The Policing Board member has also called for politicians and community leaders to condemn the material.

Belfast Telegraph reports that one sticker carries the words “Shoot your local Orange B*******”. The stickers bear the logo “Short Strand Stands With the People of the Garvaghy Road”.

Mr Clarke said the imagery encouraged murder on the basis of a person’s perceived religion or connection to the Orange Order. He said the stickers would cause great offence.

“This type of poisonous material is dangerous. Words and images have consequences, and we should never underestimate the potential for such hatred to encourage violence,” Mr Clarke said.

He urged anyone who knows about the stickers to help police with their investigation and said those who made and displayed them should be held accountable.

Mr Clarke also called for an unqualified condemnation from political and community leaders, saying those who speak about rights and respect should speak out when hatred targets the Protestant and Orange community.

The PSNI has been approached for comment.

Source: Belfast Telegraph