168 Report

 From the BBC:

“Flags report: Five things we learned from 168-page document”

Last week finally saw the publication of a report looking at how to deal with flags, culture and identity in Northern Ireland. But already there's a political row as none of its findings look set to be implemented any time soon. The full document runs to 168 pages, 17 chapters and nearly 50,000 words. Here are five things we learned about the commission and its report, published more than five years after the work began.

1. The make-up of the commission caused challenges When it was set up in June 2016 by the Stormont Executive, 15 members were appointed. Among them were academics, business people and community workers, but the five main political parties also nominated their own representatives. Reading through the report and its recommendations - some of which are incredibly vague - the phrase "where challenges remain" appears time and again. Although more than 280 meetings were held with community groups and different sectors on sensitive cultural issues, the report admits that differing "political positions" on the commission meant agreement was in short supply on most areas. It instead lays out various options for the Stormont Executive to consider - but the ideas are aspirational rather than achievable. Critics of the commission say a panel made up of members wholly independent of the political parties could have had a better chance of developing concrete proposals. But given the sheer scope of the commission's task in the first place, perhaps it was always going to be mission impossible.

2. A civic flag? Where flags are flown in Northern Ireland and what they represent to unionist and nationalist communities has long caused tension. The commission began its work several years after loyalist protests at Belfast City Hall in 2012, when the council voted to change the number of days the union flag should fly on top of the building. Many public buildings in Northern Ireland have a list of designated days that the union flag can fly, under the Flags (Northern Ireland) Order 2000. The commission suggested a new civic flag that would "incorporate representations of Britishness, Irishness and our collective diversity.” While the commission explored several options that included flying the union flag and Irish national flag on public buildings in Northern Ireland, ultimately there was no "meeting point". That won't come as a surprise - but what about the commission's other suggestion of a new civic flag? It said this flag would be "representative of the diversity" of society and would "incorporate representations of Britishness, Irishness and our collective diversity". However, it was only floated as a possibility, with no apparent political will to explore the idea further.

3. Bonfires

Bonfires are lit in unionist areas across Northern Ireland every July, as a mark of British culture ahead of the Twelfth celebrations. A small number are also lit in some nationalist areas in August to mark the anniversary of the introduction of internment - or detention without trial - on 9 August 1971. Traditionally, some nationalists have also lit bonfires on 15 August to mark the Catholic feast of the Assumption, commemorating the Virgin Mary's death and assumption into heaven. But some people object to bonfires being used as a form of cultural expression, particularly when they involve the burning of flags, effigies and election posters. The commission's report recognised bonfires as a "legitimate form of cultural expression", but said statutory bodies, government departments and landowners held the legal responsibility to enable bonfires to occur "legitimately and safely". It suggested a set of conditions for bonfires built on public land - including no burning of flags, election posters or other offensive displays. It was also proposed that only wood should be burnt and the gathering of materials should be limited to six weeks before the bonfire is set alight. However, Dr Jonny Byrne of Ulster University, an expert on public order policing, told BBC News NI that the report's views on bonfire regulations were too ambiguous. He suggested that more stand-offs over contentious bonfires could end up in the courts, pointing to a failed bid by Stormont ministers in July to remove a bonfire in north Belfast. "If we leave it to judges to decide what's right and what's wrong and we leave it to the police to manage those decisions - we've created potentially more headaches without finding solutions to these problems," said Dr Byrne. "We know what they are, they've dogged us for many years and they're not going away but they require the politicians to set aside their base and take risks to reach agreed solutions."

4. Disagreement over a 'day of reflection'

There are two chapters that look at issues around remembrance and reconciliation in Northern Ireland. The commission said the Stormont Executive should develop an accredited arts training initiative to help communities erect "positive imagery". And it suggested the executive carry out a review of existing legislation and introduce new laws - if necessary - to empower public bodies to prevent or remove murals where they contravene a set of guidelines. But it reached no agreement on what those guidelines should look like. The commission also suggested that ministers bring forward proposals for a protocol overseeing "respectful and shared commemorative events". It described memorials as "possibly the most challenging and sensitive" area during all of its discussions. And while it suggested a formal "Day of Reflection" be established for everyone who suffered during the Troubles in Northern Ireland, the commission couldn't reach consensus on that either.

5. The report will go nowhere for now Some panel members will be relieved that the report is finally in the public domain, given that the three-year absence of devolution and the Covid pandemic delayed the commission's work. But does it take us any further forward? Not at all. The document was published without an action plan from Stormont's ministers to develop some of its recommendations further. Sinn Féin blamed the DUP for refusing to sign it off and said the report contained "scaffolding" for developing a shared society. But the DUP hit back and said the answer to solving the issues was "mutual respect" from Sinn Féin. Alliance leader Naomi Long said it looked like the report had been "orphaned", accusing the Executive Office of shirking its responsibility. But the reality is that with an assembly election less than six months away, this report is hardly any of the parties' top priority.

^ After all these years and all the research and the basic issues that everyone (Irish, British, Northern Irish Catholic, Northern Irish Protestant or Foreigner) already knows about Northern Ireland and gives no real ways to fix any of it. ^

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-59522317