Sectarianism is the "single biggest issue" in the forthcoming Westminster election, the Northern Ireland Workers' Party said yesterday.
At the launch of its manifesto, the party called for sectarianism to be made a criminal offence. The party's Belfast chairman, Mr John Lowry, said the Belfast Agreement was under threat from growing sectarianism.
"It is time to re-embrace the spirit of the Belfast Agreement, to restore the ambition and vision of a new society, in which all our citizens are equals and part of the community that is Northern Ireland. "Sectarianism ought to be made a criminal offence, just as racism is in other countries. We must remove sectarian symbols of hatred from our streets," he added.
The Workers' Party is fielding candidates in six constituencies for the Westminster election and nine in the local government elections.
It proposes a collective forum involving all pro-agreement parties to implement the agreement as well as a five-point programme to address the issue of sectarianism.
Mr Lowry said it was "more important than ever that democrats and progressive-thinking people make their views known on the future of Northern Ireland".