The claim by Sinn Féin that the Union flag should not be flown over Northern Ireland government buildings was undemocratic and in violation of human rights, the Ulster Unionist Party said today.
Mr Dermot Nesbitt,MLA for South Down, countered Sinn Féin arguments that, under the Belfast Agreement, the flying of the British flag was prejudicial.
"[This] would not be accepted anywhere else in the democratic world and is in breach of human rights," said Mr Nesbitt.
"It is time the Republican movement accepted what the people of Northern Ireland voted for in May 1998: the acceptance of Northern Ireland's status as a region of the United Kingdom.
"Sinn Féin has a right to expect equality as outlined in the BelfastAgreement, namely their cultural identity. But what they fail to understand is such equality is based on acceptance of the state".
