Unease In Portadown - Breandán Mac Cionnaith's Letter To Local Papers
Given the disturbances in Ballymena on both Monday and Tuesday nights (9th & 10th June), it should come as no surprise that the far-right and their followers in various parts of the Six Counties, like those in other parts our country, are involved in attempting to manipulate various situations for their own ulterior purposes in order to promote their racist and fascist agendas
Rather than conceding ground to the far-right, one would expect that publicly-funded bodies in the Six Counties with their various statutory public duties and obligations under equality legislation would be very mindful of those duties and obligations during these potentially dangerous times.
Arbour Housing owns almost 1,500 social housing properties across the north, over two-thirds of which are found across County Armagh, particularly in the Lurgan and Portadown areas.
However, a letter issued yesterday (Wednesday 11th June) by Arbour Housing Association to its tenants in the Portadown area must surely be of major concern. That letter states the following:
Arbour has been advised that a public protest will be held in Portadown on Thursday 12th June 2025 at 7.30pm.
The protest is directed towards migrants, foreign nationals, and what are perceived as deviant behaviour.
The route of the protest is to start at Jervis Street to Town Centre to Thomas Street and Edward Street.
It is possible that this protest could lead to an unsafe situation, and we would recommend that you stay with family or friends during the protest.
Recent protests in other areas has led to disruption to traffic and damage to property, and we would recommend that measures are taken to secure your property and belongings.
In the event of risk or threat contact the emergency services on 999.
Arbour's out of office emergency number is 02890421010.
Yours faithfully,
Arbour Housing.
No mention of the fact that, as a publicly funded body, Arbour Housing, has a statutory duty under both equality and human rights legislation to ensure the protection of all its tenants, not to abandon them.
No mention in that letter of the policy statement within the ‘Our Values’ section of the Arbour Housing website which declares:
We will ensure that equality, diversity and inclusion are at the heart of what we do, and that the decisions we take are always objective and fair – even when tough decisions are needed.
Now, when tough decisions are needed, it appears that Arbour Housing has pitifully failed its own test.
The letter sent out by Arbour Housing to residents.