*Vandalised fairy doors in Ballybeg.
ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES in Clare have called on the Minister for Justice to propose legislation criminalising the use of the ‘Z’ symbol.
At the April meeting of Clare County Council, Cllr Clare Colleran Molloy (FF) proposed a motion which was passed without objection that urged Minister for Justice, Helen McEntee (FG) to introduce legislation criminalising the use of the ‘Z’ symbol “as a way to publicly support Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. ’Z’ means Russian war crimes, bombed out cities, thousands of murdered Ukrainians. Public support of this barbarism must be forbidden”.
Speaking at the meeting, the Quin native referenced the plea from Ukraine Minister for Foreign Affairs, Dmytro Kubela seeking the support of jurisdictions across the world in criminalising the use of the symbol. “Since the invasion by Russia of the independent sovereign state of Ukraine, I have been astonished to see the ‘Z’ symbol appear in my own backyard, appearing on fairy doors on the trees in Ballybeg woods, and on the Clareabbey Bridge Wall,” she admitted.
She added, “We Irish all too well appreciate war and peace. The Good Friday Agreement 24th anniversary is a stark reminder that peace & democracy cannot be taken for granted. That freedom is anything but free. The massacres exposed in Bucha (and likely to be replicated in many other locations in Ukraine) did not happen in one day. For many years, Russian propaganda has been inciting hatred, dehumanizing Ukrainians, nurturing Russian superiority, and laying ground for these atrocities”.
Pro-Russian marches that have occurred in cities such as Dublin were labelled as shameful by the former Mayor of Clare. “Framing the Russian Ukrainian war as “Good vs evil” is too vague, as there is good and evil in all societies. I think perhaps ‘civilization versus barbarism’ is better as it clearly describes a values difference between societies”.
Colleran Molloy added, “It is my position that the Russian “Z”, the symbol of killings & atrocities, must be prohibited by law in every democratic state, in the interest of public order and morality”. She quoted Alexander Solzhenitsyn and Mark Twain when concluding her address.
“I get a bit emotional when meeting and talking to the people displaced by this barbarism, we have no concept of what is in their heads. It’s not about criminalising a letter, it’s about criminalising the concept of the letter and how it is used,” Cllr Cillian Murphy (FF) outlined. “We’re here as a county and nation full of people whose natural instinct is to put their arms around each other. If we have an opportunity to draw a line in the sand and say ‘thus far and no more’ then we must take it,” the Kilkee representative added.
Support was also voiced by Cllr Donna McGettigan (SF), “There’s no point us putting our arms out to embrace them when they look around and see this symbol of hate”.
Lisdoonvarna based, Cllr Joe Garrihy (FG) stated, “For evil to triumph it only takes good men and women to stay silent, we have to take every opportunity we get as elected representatives not to be silent. Syllables do matter, how we react to them matters. Z used to be zorro for me but its meaning has changed”. Cllr Pat Hayes (FF) agreed that the signs and vandalism represent discrimination, “if the people from Ukraine went out to Ballybeg Woods and saw the symbol they would be wondering what country have they come to”.
