SIR: M Dooley of Hampshire claims the BEN spread lies and misinformation about the recent attempt by Apprentice Boys to march through the streets of Bolton. I think few people in Bolton would agree with him.
He claims the Apprentice Boys have no truck with overt Nazis from groups like Combat 18. If this is true, then why didn't they ask the police to keep Combat 18 away from the march? And why were they seen to be openly fraternising with them on the day? If the Loyalist community in this country wishes not to be tarred with the same brush as racist and fascist organisations, then they are going to have to show a lot more determination to distance themselves from such groups, and to dispel what has, in the minds of the public, become a firmly and justifiably-held association between the two.
He also criticises the BEN editorial for labelling such marches "anachronisms', and claims they are no more than a celebration of Loyalist culture. The fact is, Loyalist marches have traditionally been used to express the supremacy of one community in Northern Ireland over the other. They may not have been 'racist' in the strict sense of the word, but they have almost always been anti-Catholic and used as a means of intimidating that community. When religious bigotry is described as 'culture', then it is a gross misuse of the word, and the BEN was quite right to expose it.
Yes, I was one of the people in Bolton who welcomed Sinn Fein councillor Francie Malloy to Bolton last year, and I hope I was equally welcoming to the Loyalists who attended the meeting. At a time when everyone should be attempting to smooth the path towards a peaceful end to the centuries' old troubles in Ireland, meetings are a good thing to be having. They involve dialogue - people talking to each other, sometimes for the very first time. Triumphalist marches on the other hand, especially when they are backed up by gangs of fascists, can only provoke.
Neil Duffield
Bolton
This correspondence is now closed - Editor.
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