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A rally to protest against the flying of flags in South Belfast is being organised for Friday night.

The Respect Shared Space Rally is expected to see people congregate at Cherryvale Park on the Ravenhill Road at around 6pm.

One flyer for the event carries an image of a UVF flag.

The move comes in the wake of a number of flags, including UVF 1912 flags, appearing in a mixed housing development off the Ravenhill Road in the south of the city.

The flags have been erected in the area of Global Crescent and Cantrell Close off Ravenhill Avenue, a development which is part of the Together Building United Communities programme. The programme, according to the Stormont Executive, is a “commitment to improving community relations”.

The appearance of the flags has sparked a now familiar reaction with many outraged that they have appeared in a mixed area, but others saying they are expression of culture.

News of the rally comes ahead of some political reps meeting the PSNI on Friday to discuss the flags issue.

The police are under some pressure over flags. In one part of South Belfast in July 2014, there was an apparent change in policy when the PSNI said “police have directed that any future erection of flags on this part of the Ormeau Road [Ballynafeigh] will be treated as a breach of the peace”.

The following summer, however, the police reverted to the stance that flags are an issue for local communities to resolve and that they will only step in if there is a threat of a breach of the peace.

So far this year, the police have stuck to that stance.

Assistant Chief Constable Alan Todd said: “The flying of flags in public places is an issue that provokes a range of strong responses and very different viewpoints. The type of flags flown, how, where and when they are flown are all important considerations.

“The reality is that while we understand the public’s frustration in this matter, Police will only act to remove flags where there are substantial risks to public safety. Until the ‘Joint Protocol in Relation to the Display of Flags in Public Areas’ is updated, we will continue to work with communities and respond to any issue where there is a concern for public safety or where it is believed a criminal offence has occurred.”

A group of men with ladders were seen in the Ballynafeigh area on Tuesday putting up flags.

The political reaction to the Ravenhill flags has been varied. South Belfast MP Emma Little Pengelly said the issue is “complex”.

Speaking after calling to a number of homes in the area, the DUP representative said some people were “very supportive of the flags” and that the “majority” of people who spoke to her understood they will be taken down again at some stage.

She added: “Really they didn’t want a public fuss around this matter.”

However, that drew a sharp response from the SDLP’s Claire Hanna who said that for the MP to “dismiss fears saying no one wants to make a fuss is outrageous”.

It also emerged today that an online petition has been started calling on the PSNI “to remove flags in mixed areas in South Belfast”.

The person behind the e-petition says they are “frustrated to see the erection of flags in some of the most mixed and diverse communities within our constituency”.

They also accuse the police of having “reneged” on their previous policy of tackling people erecting flags as a breach of the peace.