There is anger in Derry after a flag of the British army’s Parachute Regiment was erected in the city to coincide with the funeral of Bishop Edward Daly..
Unionist leaders have been called on to address issue.
The call comes from Sinn Fein Cllr Christopher Jackson who said he had received a number of complaints in the last 24 hours about a Parachute Regiment flag being erected at Dales Corner in the Waterside area of the city.
He said it followed other flags being erected in the area over the past month.
Bishop Daly passed away on Monday last after a lengthy illness. He was 82.
He was laid to rest in grounds of St Eugene’s Cahedral following Requiem Mass there yesterday afternoon.
As a curate, he was present on Bloody Sunday when British paratroopers opened fire on unarmed civilians taking part in a civil rights march in the city in January 1972.
Thirteen men were killed outright while another man died four months later from his injuries.
Fourteen men and women were injured.
The then Fr Daly became known worldwide after he was photographed waving a blood-stained handkerchief as he sought medical help for the fatally wound Jackie Doherty
Calling on unionist politicians to show leadership, Cllr Jackson said: “We had a similar number of incidents in Derry last year as well. Given the history of the Parachute Regiment in this city and coming in the week of the passing of Bishop Edward Daly the erection of these flags is being seen as provocation in an effort to raise tensions in the Waterside.
“We now need to see leadership from within Unionism to ensure that these flags are taken down as those who have erected them obviously did so to create a reaction from within the Nationalist community.
“The people who erected these flags are only serving the interests of those opposed to the peace process and heightening community tensions in the city.”
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