Effigies of refugees on bonfire condemned in Northern Ireland

A model of refugees in a boat, placed on a bonfire in a pro-British town near Belfast, prompted condemnations by politicians across Northern Ireland's political divides on Thursday, weeks after migrants' homes were attacked nearby. Bonfires are lit across the British region in mainly Protestant "loyalist" neighbourhoods on the eve of the July 12 commemorations of William of Orange's victory over the Roman Catholic King James at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690.

Pictures and effigies of Catholic Irish politicians and anti-Catholic slogans are often placed on some of the bonfires, which are built from wooden pallets in the weeks ahead of July 12. Effigies of eight immigrants in life jackets were placed in a model boat alongside an Irish flag on top of the bonfire that is due to be lit on Thursday evening in the town of Moygashel, 65 km (40 miles) west of Belfast. Banners below the boat read "Stop the Boats" and "Veterans before Refugees."

A member of the regional assembly for Irish nationalists Sinn Féin, Colm Gildernew, called the display "deplorable" and a "clear incitement to hatred" that must be removed immediately. Ulster Unionist Party leader Mike Nesbitt called for the effigies to be removed and said he condemned them "without reservation".

"This image is sickening, deplorable and entirely out of step with what is supposed to be a cultural celebration," Nesbitt, who is the region's health minister, wrote on X. A statement from the pro-British Democratic Unionist Party to the BBC said the effigy placement "should not take place".

Bonfires and parades to mark July 12 have often prompted violence - by both supporters and opponents - even after a 1998 peace deal largely ended three decades of conflict between Catholic nationalists aspiring to unification with Ireland, the British state and Protestant unionists seeking to retain the status quo. Supporters, who have recently moved to rebrand July 12 celebrations as Orangefest, say the marches and bonfires represent centuries-old traditions.

In June, masked rioters attacked police and set homes and cars on fire in Ballymena, 65 km northeast of Moygashel. (Writing by Amanda Ferguson and Clodagh Kiloyne; Editing by Conor Humphries and Andrew Heavens)

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