Sectarianism and segregation remain major scars in Northern Ireland and pose a constant threat to peace and stability Alliance leader David Ford said yesterday.
The party launched a new policy paper on community relations, entitled 'Building a United Community', which pressed for the promotion of mixed housing and a pro-active approach to the removal of flags, murals and other emblems – particularly of a paramilitary nature.
On the issue of victims of the Troubles the party suggested that a forum should be established to allow people to tell their stories, and have them placed on an official record.
Mr Ford also said that Alliance was highlighting the need to reform fair employment monitoring regulations "to reflect the reality that people define themselves in many ways other than members of a Protestant community or a Catholic community".
The Alliance document said it was concerned at the spread of flags, murals and emblems which can turn previously mixed areas into segregated ones, as people leave.
"With the undercurrent of paramilitarism and associated intimidation or actual violence, it is not realistic to expect local communities to ask for action from public authorities, or to take action themselves.
"Alliance advocates the creation of an inter-departmental working group to facilitate an inter-agency approach to these problems.
"The Housing Executive and Roads Service should comply with their requirements under equality legislation, in particular the Fair employment and Treatment Order, and remove flags, murals and graffiti on their property in order to help to create and maintain neutral living environments.
"Similar symbols of a racial nature would not be tolerated in Great Britain, and indeed are removed by the responsible authorities.
"Alliance will resist attempts to push the responsibility for dealing with such problems back onto local communities. This gives local strong men inordinate influence at the expense of legitimate voices," the document said.
In addition Alliance said the police should adopt a more pro-active policy of intervening when paramilitary flags and other emblems are being erected. There are a number of existing criminal offences, relating to breach of the peace, public order, intimidation, and terrorism that can be cited.
The document is critical of the Northern Ireland Housing Executive for "doing little to create or maintain mixed housing estates".
North Down candidate Stephen Farry said opinion polls constantly showed that there was majority support for mixed housing but it was not being provided.
"Part of the problem is one of security. People need to feel secure that they can live in mixed areas. So, it is an important role both for the executive, the police, and the criminal justice authorities," he said.
"At the moment we have this contradiction. Whenever someone is intimidated in a mixed area, what is the response of the authorities?
"Nine times out of 10 it is to move the victim as opposed to actually taking action against those that are doing the intimidation. We need to try to break this vicious cycle," Mr Farry said.
Mr Ford said party policy was that housing should be provided on need, but obviously also housing areas should operate on the basis that they were open to all as far as that was possible.
"We recognise that you are not going to go into deeply segregated areas where there has been a history going back decades of segregation and impose some sort of integration. That is not the way forward," Mr Ford said.
"But it is essential – particularly if you look at things like the new regional development strategy and the amount of new building that is going to happen in areas of the Belfast suburbs and small towns – that every possible incentive should be given to ensure that those areas are built and developed in a neutral fashion so that people of all kinds of backgrounds can go and live there."
The party said it did not believe that the building of 'peace walls' to keep people apart provided a meaningful solution to interface tensions.
The 30-page policy document deals with a broad range of issues covering de-segregation, communal integration, citizenship, education, common civic spaces, full enforcement of existing law and revision of criminal law, human rights, and the extension of the racially motivated offences contained within the Crime and Disorder Act to Northern Ireland, as well as the Football Offences Act.
On fair employment monitoring regulations, Alliance argues that these should be amended to allow people to identify themselves as Protestant, Catholic, Other Religion or No Religion.
The list of organisations exempted from fair employment regulations should be amended, said Alliance, as in particular the ability of schools to hire teachers exclusively from one or other community background should be removed.
Meanwhile, Alliance yesterday also said that Northern Ireland should be promoted as a distinct region within a decentralising British Isles and emerging Europe of the regions.
Alliance proposed that new symbols be devised including a new flag which should not be a marriage of the symbols of the two dominant traditions but reflect the real diversity to be found in Northern Ireland.
