Parties condemn bonfire effigy of refugees in small boat

The placing of an effigy of refugees in a boat on top of a bonfire in County Tyrone "should not take place", the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) has said.

The bonfire in Moygashel is due to be lit on Thursday night.

The model of a small boat with several figures inside is on top of a banner saying "stop the boats" and "veterans before refugees".

Politicians from other parties have also condemned the effigy.

Moygashel Bonfire Committee has said that the bonfire "topper" should not be seen as "racist, threatening or offensive" and it is "expressing our disgust at the ongoing crisis that is illegal immigration".

Sinn Féin Fermanagh and South Tyrone assembly member Colm Gildernew said it was a "vile and a deplorable act and "clearly a hate crime".

He said the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) now needs to urgently remove the effigy and "our political leaders in this area need to step up and condemn this absolutely unacceptable behaviour".

The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) said bonfires on 11 July are "a historic and cultural tradition stretching back to the fires lit to welcome the arrival of King William lll" and "should be positive cultural celebrations".

It said it supported "those within our community that wish to celebrate their culture by continuing with that tradition in a peaceful, positive and safe way", but that the "placing of flags, effigies or other items on bonfires is not part of that tradition and should not take place".

Gildernew and the UUP's Mike Nesbitt both described the act as "deplorable".

UUP leader Nesbitt posted on social media that it was "sickening" and "entirely out of step with what is supposed to be a cultural celebration".

"I condemn it without reservation and urge those responsible to remove it forthwith," he added.

Gildernew said it was "an absolutely disgusting act, fuelled by sickening racist and far-right attitudes".

"This is a clear incitement to hatred and must be removed immediately," he added.

"Those who come to our island to make it their home are not the enemy."

SDLP councillor Malachy Quinn said he had reported the display to the police.

"Those responsible for this hateful display claim to be celebrating British culture," he said.

"Let's be clear, racism and intimidation are not culture. This isn't pride, it's poison."

Alliance councillor Eddie Roofe said the placing of the model of a small boat of refugees on the bonfire was "despicable".

"Those responsible only seek to incite fear and spread far-right beliefs and do not represent the community as a whole," he said.

Amnesty International's Patrick Corrigan also called for the removal of the effigy and said it was a "vile, dehumanising act that fuels hatred and racism".

"It cruelly mocks the suffering of people who risk everything to flee war, persecution, and hardship in search of safety," he said.

North West Migrants' Forum integration and welfare officer Gaelle Gormley said it was "outrageous" and "really disgraceful".

"We even had goosebumps of fear," she told BBC Radio Ulster's Evening Extra programme.

"It is a call for hate.

"Our service users are mostly asylum seekers and refugees and they are very scared and they are really disappointed."

She called on the PSNI to "take it down" and said people needed to be educated on what it is to be an asylum seeker.

In a statement, a PSNI spokesperson said: "Police are aware of an item placed on a bonfire at the Moygashel area."

Their inquiries are continuing, they added.

Bonfires are lit annually in some unionist areas across Northern Ireland to usher in the Twelfth of July, the main date in the parading season.

The majority are lit on 11 July.