Walls must come down

‘The physical barriers dividing Belfast and other areas of Northern Ireland can and must come down’, The Workers Party says.

‘The recent initiative to address the future of ‘peace walls’, announced by the International Fund for Ireland is a welcome move but a number of steps can and should be taken without further delay”, says Party spokesperson John Lowry.

‘Our community is now divided by more than 88 physical barriers, stretching for over 13 miles. Many have been built in recent years. If, as a society, we are serious about a shared future we must start with the removal of these divisive barriers’.

An audit of all existing ‘peace walls’ will show that many are not in residential areas, do not have anyone living in their immediate vicinity and can therefore be demolished as a first and significant step towards the total removal of all community barriers.’, Mr Lowry said.