Vote totals:
Yes:
0%
No:
0%
Neutral:
0%
DEBATE: SHOULD THE MURALS IN BELFAST BE REPLACED WITH MORE PEACEFUL IMAGES?
SHOULD THE MURALS IN BELFAST BE REPLACED WITH MORE PEACEFUL IMAGES?
The murals depict the animosity that once existed between unionists and nationalists, however, this animosity must be wiped out completely in order for power sharing to succeed.
In order for power sharing to prove successful, and not face the same fate as that of the 1972 power sharing scheme, it would be beneficial if all explicit signs of animosity were removed from the streets of Derry, Shankill road, the Bogside and elsewhere. UVF images, IRA images, UDA images, or NICRA images only serve as reminders of the hardship that the people of Northern Ireland faced during the troubles. Nationalist murals, remembering the Bloody Sunday conflict, or portraying the inequality of many Catholic citizens, can only serve to create a barrier towards moving forward, whilst those that display IRA men maintain the animosity between Dr. Iain Paisley’s Democratic Ulster Party and the cohabiting nationalist party. Meanwhile, images in the Unionist Shankill road area are clearly not just remnants of the past, but include dates up the 2002 in some cases. Such images cannot celebrate or glorify what is in actual fact still present today in Northern Ireland, even though the presence of the IRA/UVF/UFF is today minute compared to that of the 1970s and 1980s. Yet to allow the murals to exist is to give credence to such groups, and therefore all murals should be removed in order to move forward and mark a turn away from sectarian thinking.
Wiping out the murals will not help to wipe out the memory of the past. Rather, it might incite a backlash. Power sharing cannot be a case of pretending the past never happened, but rather acknowledging that past and building a new future.
SHOULD THE MURALS IN BELFAST BE REPLACED WITH MORE PEACEFUL IMAGES?
Impressionable generations may be incited by such images, and relight issues which they have little understanding of
The murals do not provide an education to those that see them. In order to understand the murals it is vital that people possess knowledge of the period from 1969-1999. Young teenagers may look upon these images as part of a natural order of life in Belfast. They may be aware of names such as MacStiofain and Bobby Sands, and they may even hold these men in high regard without knowing the actions or history of such people. As younger generations are often impressionable, the environment in which they live will contribute greatly to their character, and if they digest the propaganda messages from the sectarian artwork in their street without knowing both sides of the story it is possible that the youth of Northern Ireland could take a step back in history creating a new animosity between Protestants and Catholics, without being aware of Unionist or Nationalist notions.
It is up to parents, teachers and society in general to educate the younger generations about Northern Ireleand’s political history and provide them with a balanced view of the past that will prevent a lapse into ill-informed prejudices. The murals should be part of that process, placed in their proper context.
SHOULD THE MURALS IN BELFAST BE REPLACED WITH MORE PEACEFUL IMAGES?
The murals are part of Belfast’s tourist trail and therefore provide income for Northern Ireland.
Making a tourist trade out of a bloody and destructive conflict is simply distasteful. Surely Northern Ireland should be shown to visitors in a more positive light, rather than encouraging them to dwell on the darker side of its history.
Many tourists that head to Belfast often get in a black taxi and ask for a tour of the iconography of the troubles. As a result, the make up part of the tourist trail for many that visit Northern Ireland, and allow many people with Irish heritage to gain a small insight into Irish tradition and history. The murals depicting the troubles are no longer relevant in the current power sharing climate of today, but rather they provide places like Derry, which is still comparatively a poor area, a much needed influx of visitors and possible money.
SHOULD THE MURALS IN BELFAST BE REPLACED WITH MORE PEACEFUL IMAGES?
Removing the murals would remove the freedom of expression of the people of Northern Ireland.
Freedom of expression does not extend to allowing people to stir up hate against others;we have laws against this. These murals are effectively doing the same thing, so why should they be allowed to remain?
There is a group of artists in the Bogside area of Belfast called the Bogside artists. These artists are responsible for murals which depict the troubles and murals which depict the future and peace. Upon being asked whether they think their work institutionalises the struggle the artists replied by saying that ‘No… The day we give up creativity is the day we stop asking the arts councils to fund us and adopt the more reliable method of scratch cards’. The artists themselves do not aim to institutionalise the struggle but rather see the murals simply as another form of art, only this art is not on canvas. To remove the murals, or cover them with more ‘peaceful’ images would be the same as condoning and removing controversial or provocative art in galleries.
SHOULD THE MURALS IN BELFAST BE REPLACED WITH MORE PEACEFUL IMAGES?
The troubles are a historical event which should not be forgotten or swept under the carpet.
Much like the holocaust, the Northern Irish troubles represent a period of history that is regrettable. However, no matter how regrettable the troubles were they account for the situation and present condition of Northern Ireland today. Immediate history cannot be forgotten, and to replace all the murals in Belfast with pictures of George Best would be to forget the names of those that lost their lives over a 40 year plus time period.
