Two hundred cyclists will get an eyeful of Belfast's paramilitary images when the Giro d’Italia rolls into town.
The world-class athletes will speed past around 30mph but organisers estimate the sinister images will be seen by 800 million TV viewers worldwide.
A political war of words erupted over Alliance’s Anna Lo and her bid to get them and Union Jack flags along the route taken down.
But the call for the paramilitary murals to be whitewashed received a blow as the Mirror was told by loyalist paramilitaries there will be no fashionable makeover in time for the Giro.
David Stitt, chief of Charter NI an ex-UDA prisoners group, vetoed the idea it would get rid of their murals on “Freedom Corner” on the Newtownards Road in East Belfast, now or at any stage in the future.
He said: “The murals are attractions, part of the tourist trail and they’re never coming down.
“We are currently in consultation with residents over other murals and it’s whatever the residents want.
“There is no need to put a mural up when we are civilizing. It’s all about demilitarisation.
“We have already reduced our murals from 28 to 25 over the past few months.”
He predicted more mural re-imaging will follow in time as an outworking of “ongoing consultation” with communities.
Mr Stitt said: “We don’t put flags up in East Belfast.
“The flags are meant to go up in June to September during the marching season.” On tattered Union Jack flags he added: “I don’t like it. They should be taken down.
“When it goes up people should take pride in the flag.
“We are already ahead of the game in terms of starting consultation with communities since last July.”
Questioned on whether any UDA representatives will sit down and talk with Ms Lo over the mural issue he said: “We will talk with anyone.” PUP East Belfast councillor John Kyle also ruled out UVF murals being made-over on the Newtownards Road.
He said: “I would be very surprised. In terms of paramilitary murals they need to become a thing of the past.
“They should be part of a transformation process taking currently taking place within our country.
“It is important to commemorate the past but it is more important to look to the future.
“We need to have a good process to discuss murals and street art to remember the past but celebrate the city’s successes.”
An East Belfast source added: “Basically, the paramilitary murals are about UVF men in the area flexing their muscles and sticking two fingers up to everyone else. There’s not much support for those.
“People do see them as threatening and intimidating.”
That appeared to be borne out with some residents yesterday reluctant to give their names to their comments over the murals row. Newtownards Road resident Julie, 42, said: “If everyone embraces it [Giro d’Italia], it will be great to see it coming through here.
“As long as there are no flag protests or anyone decides to kick off because someone from France cycles through here and they’re Catholic. The murals are a tourist draw because you do see the tour buses go up and down and stopping off at them. I can’t see them being painted over.”
East Belfast man Joe said: “This is a great place and they are welcome here and they’ll be no problems here.
“I don’t think they’ll do anything about it. Let the people here decide when they will come down, but it won’t be in my day but in the generation to come.”
Greg Watson, from the Newtownards Road, said: “It’s great to see it coming here for the area.
“It’s the kids that keep [the murals and flags] going.
“I think the older ones have moved on.
“There’s a couple that should be painted over and flags that are tattered should be replaced.”
