Alliance Youth proud to be part of Belfast Pride

4.30.00pm UTC (GMT +0000) Mon 4th Aug 2008

Members of Alliance Youth came out in numbers to support and take part in the Belfast Pride march this past Saturday afternoon. Along with Party Leader David Ford and other Alliance Party members, Alliance Youth activists carried the Party banner along the parade route to show our Party's unfaltering support for equal rights and to stand with the LGBT community in their struggle against prejudice.

Alliance Youth Chair Stephen Martin commented: "We, in Alliance Youth, were delighted to take part on Saturday in Belfast Pride. The whole day was an extraordinary success and credit must go to the organisers and all the participants for making the festival such a wonderful occasion. The people of Belfast were out in force to support the Parade which is proof positive, if any were needed, that the vast majority will not tolerate prejudice in our society and that there are those willing to take a stand against the kind of remarks made recently by the DUP's Iris Robinson.

"Alliance Youth will continue to work to combat intolerance and ignorance. It's time that all elected officials engaged with the LGBT groups so that issues specific to their needs can be dealt with in an open, effective manner and not pushed to the side."

Queen's University Alliance Chair Michael Bower added: "OFMDFM is going to face the issue of renewal of funding for LGBT groups in 2009. The groups are understandably worried that this may not happen due to the DUP's poor record on gay rights. Alliance Youth calls upon OFMDFM to clarify its position on this and put LGBT groups' fears at ease by letting them know that they have no intention of cutting their funding."

ENDS