The annual conference for UNISON Northern Ireland was disrupted today by a ridiculous decision from venue management to forbid the display of a pro-Palestine slide. The union’s graphic featured the following message, inoffensive to anyone who isn’t an advocate of genocide:
Stop genocide. Stop illegal occupation. Stop ethnic cleansing.
Staff at the International Convention Centre (ICC) had first raised concerns about the image on Thursday. They apparently worried that display of the slide would prevent the venue from maintaining a “fair and harmonious working environment”.
When UNISON attendees learned on Friday morning of the decision to refuse permission to use the slide. They abandoned the conference and held a protest outside, with local Palestine activists joining.
Supposedly impartial council-owned venue engaged in political vetting
With the ICC refusing to back down on their decision at the council-owned centre, UNISON made the decision to relocate the conference of 200 delegates to their offices in North Belfast. In a statement on the UNISON Northern Ireland Facebook page, they said:
The Waterfront is in breach of its contract with UNISON. It is guilty of political vetting and it is damaging its own business plan.
No logical explanation has been given to UNISON despite repeated attempts by the union and by many Belfast City councillors, MLAs and MPs to explain that The Waterfront is totally misinterpreting Belfast City Council’s policies on equality and human rights.
However, Councillor Ciarán Beattie, Sinn Féin group leader at Belfast City Council, eventually became aware of the matter. He brought it before the council’s Strategic Policy and Resource Committee. They then liaised with ICC management, staff at the venue, and UNISON officials, and an agreement was reached that would permit display of the slide.
But the problem was — by this point, four hours had passed.
UNISON general secretary Christina McAnea, who was in Belfast for the conference, said:
The decision to effectively ban the union from using the ICC was ridiculous and has been a real waste of everyone’s time.
UNISON has been using the venue for years. The Palestine slide wasn’t offensive. There can surely be no one who wants the genocide, ethnic cleansing and illegal occupation of Palestine to continue. This was all about political vetting and the union will never stand for that.
It’s good the centre has finally seen sense, but it should never have come to this. UNISON’s conference had to transfer to its Belfast offices at considerable inconvenience to representatives, who’ve travelled from across Northern Ireland, and significant cost to the union. This should never have happened.
Dubious claim that they were only protecting staff
In a statement sent to Belfast Media, ICC management attempted to draw a distinction between the likes of on-stage screens used to deliver speeches or presentations, and smaller screens found in the corridors of the venue. They said:
These small screens are used primarily to signpost visitors around the venue and are located in common areas of the building used by all visitors, staff and event delegates.
Advice was provided that the location of these screens would form part of the workplace for ICC staff, and the venue has a legal obligation to provide a fair and harmonious working environment.
They said they had:
…no issue…over any conference presentation content, as that is a matter for the event organiser.
However, anyone familiar with the conference centre will know that — at least in the main atriums and corridors connecting them — there is no clear delineation between “part of the workplace for staff” and the area that is in use for the event itself.
When organisers host an event, they cover almost every inch of the venue in paraphernalia related to it.
Much of that will inevitably be promoting an ethos or ideas held by those putting the event on. Screens littering the venue will cycle through a range of messaging and signage, some of which will inevitably be expressing political ideas of some form. As UNISON point out, attempting to veto the messaging present in these areas amounts to a form of political vetting.
Keep the anti-genocide messaging, and ban the genocidaires
ICC management didn’t raise any objection to the presence last week of an organisation participating in genocide — Invest NI, the government body that has been funding the F-35 warplane programme.
They didn’t raise any objection this week to hosting companies up to their necks in so-called Israel’s crimes. Companies like Microsoft and Dell, primary Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions targets are deeply integrated into the Zionist entity’s many breaches of international law.
Belfast City Council are clearly looking to avoid a repeat of the debacle, and have now said:
Elected members have also agreed that a framework should be developed by officers to provide clear guidance to event organisers on any future display of materials in all council-owned venues and areas within them.
The committee decision on the development of a framework is subject to ratification at the next full council meeting on Monday 3 November.
Hopefully their review of policy finds time to take in international law.
A closer look at that would indicate they should actively encourage anti-genocide messaging, given it is the responsibility of states to end such crimes. The council should actively forbid attendance for those — like Invest NI, Microsoft, and Dell — who seek to enable Zionist atrocities.
Featured image via Belfastmedia
