Murphy move over NI terminology ‘insulting’ and ‘anti-democratic’ - Donaldson
Monday, May 21st, 2007
Newry and Armagh Young Unionists Representative and UUP Officer Kenny Donaldson has described as “insulting and anti-democratic” the contents of a leaked memo emanating from the new Sinn Fein DRD Minister Conor Murphy in which he is said to have banned his staff from calling the Province Northern Ireland.
At the behest of Mr Murphy, DRD staff must now refer to Northern Ireland as “here” or “the north”, while the Republic of Ireland is to be called “all Ireland” or “across the island of Ireland” and “Derry” must be used instead of “Londonderry”.
In a statement, Kenny said: “It’s absolutely intolerable that any Minister of the Northern Ireland Executive should seek to eradicate terminology specific to the very Region for which they are at service to. Conor Murphy along with his colleagues within the Republican Movement accepted Northern Ireland as a ‘legitimate territory of the United Kingdom’ when signing up for the Belfast Agreement, the consequent Saint Andrew’s Accord, and when taking the oath to serve as a Minister within the Northern Ireland Executive.
“Mr Murphy is guilty of political revisionism. He, along with his colleagues, are clearly embarrassed at the fact that they have sold out on their founding ‘so-called Republican principles.’ Northern Ireland is here and it is here to stay and any Minister of our Executive who should so blatantly seek to undermine this territory by giving it erroneous names should be hauled into line.”
He added: “Come on DUP, where are your much-vaunted accountability mechanisms? Do you care that your OFM/DFM partners are so intent upon undermining the very Region for which you claim to care so dearly for?”