The controversy surrounding Fr Alec Reid's comments comparing Unionists to Nazis rumbled on at last night's (Wednesday) Lisburn City Council.
In what is regarded by nationalist councillors as a provocative move, DUP councillor for Lisburn Town North, Paul Givan put forward a motion which called on nationalists to 'disassociate' themselves from 'Mr' Reid's comments.
23-year-old Mr Givan, in his first term as a councillor, has a reputation for hitting the headlines as he has previously made derogatory remarks about the hunger strikers, and praised the H-Block prison officers who treated prisoners like "animals". This latest move by the DUP councillor has been described by nationalists as "hypocrisy" and "despicable".
The motion put before Lisburn City Council on Wednesday night reads: "The Council condemns and utterly refutes the deplorable comments of Mr Alec Reid comparing the alleged mistreatment of nationalists by unionists as the same as the Nazis' treatment of the Jews and calls upon nationalist leaders to disassociate themselves from his comments."
Speaking before the meeting Sinn Féin councillor Paul Butler labelled Mr Givan as a hypocrite for tabling the motion.
"This is an insult-motion forwarded by the DUP. By the very fact that they did not even address Fr Reid by his religious title, shows the disrespect they have for him.
"The DUP are playing politics with this and there is a certain amount of hypocrisy as this motion is made by the same councillor who only a few months ago made the claim that prison officers treated republican prisoners like animals.
"The DUP should be publicly accepting that they did wrong and map out a vision for the future in which we can share this island," said Cllr Butler.
SDLP Dunmurry Cross councillor Brian Heading was furious about the terminology of the motion, as it implied that the unionists did not mistreat nationalists.
"The motion refers to 'alleged mistreatment of nationalists by unionists'. This is despicable and offensive terminology to describe unionist rule in this part of Ireland. Clearly the unionists are not prepared to accept the evidence of discrimination and inequality as a cause for the conflict. Councillor Givan should take time to study the history of Northern Ireland, its policies and how it was governed.
"Fr Alec Reid has apologised not only for the remarks he made in a fit of anger, but also for the hurt caused to the unionist community. His remarks should not be used by the DUP to deflect attention away from issues which still need to be resolved," said Cllr Heading.
Fr Alec Reid is currently in Bilbao and unavailable for comment.
