Removal of bilingual street sign in East Belfast being treated as ‘sectarian hate crime’

The removal of a bilingual street sign in East Belfast is being treated as a “sectarian hate crime”.

The street sign at Knock Eden Park in the Rosetta area was removed on Sunday, July 7, with the plaque still missing. A local councillor for the area said it was “an attack on diversity and culture”, and Belfast City Council said the sign should be replaced next week.

Sinn Féin’s Stevie Jenkins said: “Sadly the bilingual street sign at Knock Eden Park has been removed again. I have reported this hate crime to the PSNI.

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“I have also contacted the council to have him replaced as soon as possible. Residents are understandably upset at yet another attack on diversity and culture.”

Police said they were treating the incident as a sectarian-motivated hate crime. In a statement, Sgt McHenry said: “Shortly before 9.20pm, it was reported to police that a dual language sign had been damaged in the area. At this stage, the incident is being treated as a sectarian-motivated hate crime.

“Police are appealing to anyone with any information in relation to this matter to contact them on 101 quoting reference number 1559 07/07/24. Alternatively, you can submit a report online using the non-emergency reporting form via http://www.psni.police.uk/makeareport/. You can also contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at http://crimestoppers-uk.org/.”

A Belfast City Council spokesman said: “This sign was reported missing on July 8 and a replacement was ordered on July 9. It will be next week before it is replaced.”

It comes after the same sign was removed in a similar incident last month, and after a bilingual street sign in Cranmore Park, south Belfast, was also vandalised this week.

In January, it was agreed at the council’s People and Communities Committee that bilingual street signs, with the street name written in both English and Irish, would be placed on the street.

In a survey of local residents to decide whether bilingual street signs should be installed in Knock Eden Park, 55 occupants (28.50%) were in favour of erecting a second street name sign, 46 occupants (23.83%) were against, while 11 occupants (5.70%) had no preference for either option. 81 occupants (41.97%) did not respond to the survey.

A new policy on dual-language street signs means that 15 percent of residents being in favor is enough to erect the sign. Non-responses will no longer be counted as “against” votes, and there will be an equality assessment for each application.

At the full council meeting, Sinn Féin councillor Tomás Ó Néill said: “We have a threshold set at 15%, the registered voters who turned out were nearly 30%, which is double the threshold.

“The reason for this limit is about protecting minority languages, minority language rights and visibility. The policy has been drafted in line with the European Charter for Regional Minority Languages, the UN Convention on Human Rights and the Rights of the Child CRC.

“The policy has been much debated and delayed, taking years to put into practice. The street must be delivered in line with the policy, especially one with 28.5 per cent of residents wanting to see it installed, double the limit.”

At the time, DUP councillor Bradley Ferguson said: “I have been approached by residents who live on the street and they have told me about the good community relations that exist on the street and how people live well together, regardless of religion, skin colour or anything like that. Many have raised concerns about this, many have thought it would cause an increase in community tension.”

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