With the call-in process still underway, and no council meetings timetabled before next Monday, there are big question marks over whether the flag will be flown this Saturday
Belfast City Council is saying it is “not appropriate” to comment on a process which is determining whether or not the Palestinian flag can be flown from City Hall this Saturday.
Earlier this month at a meeting of the full Belfast City Council, a majority of elected representatives approved a Sinn Féin proposal to erect the national flag of Palestine above City Hall this Saturday November 29, the International Day for Solidarity with the People of Palestine.
A vote on the proposal saw 41 in favour from Sinn Féin, Alliance, the SDLP, the Green Party and People Before Profit, and 15 against from the DUP, the UUP and the TUV. The proposal was carried.
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This decision was subsequently “called in” by unionists – information relating to the number of elected representatives who called it in and the party or parties they represent has not been furnished by the council.
According to local government law, only 15 percent of a council is required to call-in a decision, setting off independent legal examination, a potential an equality impact assessment, then a redetermination of the decision. If the call-in is seen as competent, it will go back to the full council, where the original proposal has to then pass an 80 percent threshold of the vote to be successful.
With the call-in process still underway, and no council meetings timetabled before next Monday, there are big question marks over whether the flag will be flown this Saturday.
Councillors have to give reasons for any call-in, explaining why they believe the decision “was not arrived at after a proper consideration of the relevant facts and issues” and why they believe the decision “would disproportionately affect adversely any section of the inhabitants of the district.”
Legal advice has been sought by the council as a result of the call-in, and it has been reported that some issues have been raised relating to actions taken or not taken before the vote to fly the flag. No legal breaches have been confirmed or suggested thus far.
A Belfast City Council spokesperson said: “A call-in requisition in relation to the decision to fly the national flag of Palestine at City Hall on November 29, the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, was received. As this process is ongoing, it would not be appropriate to comment further at this time.”
A parade has been organised in Belfast by the Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign, moving from Donegall Street and City Hall this Saturday afternoon, with 2,000 plus people expected to get involved.
Sinn Féin Councillor Ryan Murphy said at the full council meeting on November 3: “We have a so-called ceasefire where we have over 230 Palestinian people killed. Francesa Albanese, the UN Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories summed it up best when she said what the ceasefire means to the Israelis is “you cease, and we keep firing.”
“With that still taking place, I have had people contacting me, wondering what they can do to get involved in efforts to try and highlight those ongoing human rights abuses, and to try and support the people of Palestine in whatever way they can. That includes people attending demonstrations and protests, people fundraising locally in my own area.”
He added: “It is also about what we do in here. One of the reasons we are flying those flags on December 10 for human rights, is because we can’t light City Hall up due to the Christmas lights. So I would like to propose on November 29, which is the International Day for Solidarity with the People of Palestine that Belfast City Hall will have the national flag of Palestine erected above the building.”
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