A Presbyterian minister last night accused a new drama based on the Holy Cross school protest of publicly humiliating the Catholic and Protestant families involved in the 2001 dispute.
The Rev Norman Hamilton was heavily involved in negotiations to end three months of loyalist protests against Holy Cross schoolgirls in Ardoyne two years ago.
But the minister of Ballysillan Presbyterian Church is highly critical of a new drama based on the Holy Cross dispute, due to be broadcast by BBC/RTE, describing it as "seriously flawed".
"I do not dispute the right of the BBC/RTE to commission and make the programme," Mr Hamilton said.
"I firmly uphold the right of broadcasters to make controversial and challenging drama.
"However, I do dispute their right to impose such drama on the communities most affected by it without some serious attempt to get their consent on the content."
Claiming that neither Holy Cross parents nor Glenbryn residents were consulted on the contents of the drama or the potential impact its showing could have on community relations in Ardoyne, he said: "This is a dark piece of work, which seems to me to publicly humiliate both communities, for the wider audience is left with only the raw emotion of two years ago as a measure of where people are at now, and it is not a pretty sight.
"There is scarcely a glimmer of hope for the future; there is no recognition of the work that has been done in the past few years to build the communities, nor any recognition of how children and families have picked themselves up.
"There is no attempt to look back reflectively with even limited historical hindsight, nor refer to the current situation; and certainly no building blocks are provided for improving community relations in the future."
Mr Hamilton insisted that he has yet to meet anyone from either the Catholic or Protestant community who supports the broadcasting of the controversial drama.
"This is scarcely surprising, since both local primary and secondary schools have been targeted in recent weeks, and we are in the middle of a high octane election campaign," he said.
Warning that the drama would add to a belief that the television stations were more interested in public ratings than public service broadcasting he said: "In my view this is a significant example of public dis-service broadcasting."
However, a BBC spokeswoman last night defended the decision to broadcast the programme.
"Holy Cross is a drama with integrity," she said.
"We recognise that it is a sensitive topic and for that reason have consulted with both communities and listened to their concerns throughout the production process."
Insisting that Holy Cross was a purely fictional piece of work, she said: "This is a fictional story about how two ordinary families react under extra ordinary circumstances.
"It seeks to go behind the headlines and provide emotional insight into why people reacted in the way they did."
