Stormont not marking European Day for Remembrance of the Victims of Terrorism

Several public buildings will be illuminated this evening to commemorate the many lives lost to terrorist incidents, however Stormont will not be one of them. Thursday marks the 17th European Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Terrorism. Landmarks such as St. Anne's Cathedral and Belfast City Hall, as well as the headquarters of Derry City and Strabane District Council, and the offices of Causeway Coast and Glens Council in Coleraine will turn red to mark it. Northern Ireland’s Parliament Buildings will not be lit up after the Assembly Commission declined the request. It's believed the DUP, the Ulster Unionists, Alliance and the SDLP were all in favour - but Sinn FÉin were against it and without consensus the request was denied. One group representing victims and survivors says it's not too late to change that decision. Kenny Donaldson from South-East Fermanagh Foundation said: "In the last six months we've seen that building lit up but for European Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Terrorism.it cannot be lit? “We have no event this year in Stormont, it's the first year that's happened in a decade. Victims and survivors have been extremely disciplined for the last year, they haven't come together to remember their dead on anniversaries, they've obeyed the Covid rules and now we have a political party who broke those Covid rules at the start of this are now at the flick of a pen allowed to say 'no you're not going to have your building lit up’.” "I think it will be very disappointing to many people across our society,” DUP Foyle MLA Gary Middleton commented. "None less than the victims of terrorism, those victims and their families, victims organisations because this isn't an orange and green issue, this is something that people right across Europe recognise is a day of reflection, a day to remember those who unfortunately lost their lives through terrorism." Sinn Féin stated that it wants to see "an inclusive lighting policy" that reflects different sections of the community. Once again, though, survivors find themselves caught in the crossfire of debate. In Northern Ireland, remembrance itself is often a victim of political division.