Ahern wants all parties to sign anti-sectarianism declaration

FOREIGN Affairs Minister Dermot Ahern wants every political party on the island to sign an anti-sectarianism declaration promising they would not inflame potentially volatile situations.

Speaking in Dundalk yesterday, he said that, as the marching season approached, parties needed to be conscious particularly of the comments they made.

He is suggesting a protocol similar to one that parties previously signed on racism, which would see the parties declaring that “by our words or our deeds we would not in any way inflame a situation.”