By Alexandra Sandacz
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

BELFAST, Northern Ireland – Belfast faced its fifth night of rioting following protests over the Belfast City Council’s decision to stop a century-old tradition of flying the Union Jack flag year-round. Instead, the City Council decided to limit the number of days the union flag flies over Belfast City Hall.

Almost a thousand protesters picketed Belfast City Hall when the City Council met for the first time since passing the controversial motion in December. The protestors demanded that the council reverse its ruling over the flag.

The most recent protest began peacefully, however, the violent riot started when hundreds of protesters passed the Short Strand on their return to east Belfast. Multiple Nationalists threw numerous missiles as the protestors passed.

As a result, police fired plastic bullets and water cannons in an effort to separate republican and protestant groups. Loyalist protestors set up a barricade in the middle of the road and set it on fire. In addition, the police were also notified of two attempted hijackings in the area.

During the recent riot, two males and two females were arrested and accused of rioting and public order violations. Since the various protests began, 96 people were arrested, and at least 52 officers were hurt. Furthermore, since December, multiple elected representatives received death threats.

The Chief Constable for the Police Service of Northern Island believes the violence is at the fault of the loyalist Ulster Volunteer Force members. The British flag has been the subject of a longstanding disagreement between British loyalists and Irish nationalists.

Chief Constable Matt Baggott said, “Everyone involved needs to step back. The lack of control is very worrying. The only answer is a political solution.”

Also, Baggott expressed concern over the number of children that have taken part in the riots. He stated that numerous children were “without parental control” and risked “blighting their own future”.

He states, “At a time when we are working desperately hard with the tourist board, investment agencies, foreign investors, to present the right picture of Northern Ireland as a place that’s worthy of investment, many of those young people who may benefit from that will now have convictions.”

Billy Hutchinson, leader of the Progressive Unionist Party, stated, “If this is the chief constable’s assessment, then what I am saying to people in east Belfast, people belonging to the UVF, please desist from being involved in violence.”

For further information, please see:

IrishTimes – Violence continues in Belfast as flags dispute shoes no sign of abating – 8 January 2013

The Independent – Fifth night of flag rioting hits Belfast – 8 January 2013

BBCNews – Belfast flag trouble: Plastic bullets fired at protestors – 7 January 2013

CNN – Police: Extremist group ‘orchestrating violence’ in Belfast over Union Jack – 7 January 2013

By Madeline Schiesser
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

REYKJAVIK, Iceland – On all official documents, 15-year-old Blær Bjarkadóttir is identified only as stúlka, literally girl, because her name is not approved by Iceland’s Human Name Committee.  However, Blær has become the first person to challenge in court the Human Name Committee’s adverse decision in order to obtain the right to legally use her name.

Iceland, like Germany and Denmark, has an official “Personal Names Register,” which contains 1,853 approved names for women, and 1,712 approved names for men that confirm to grammar and pronunciation rules and are believed to protect children from embarrassment.  Parents may apply to the Human Name Committee for a special exception.

Blær’s name however, which means “light breeze,” was rejected by the Committee because it takes a masculine article, although it is an approved name for a man.

Björk Eiðsdóttir, Blær’s mother, had not realized Blær was not on the approved name list when she had her daughter christened, and it was only later that the priest informed her he had made a mistake by allowing the name.

Blær’s lack of a legal name has given her years of frustration, as she must explain the story of why she is officially called Stúlka when filling out forms or dealing with the country’s bureaucratic system.

“I had no idea that the name wasn’t on the list, the famous list of names that you can choose from,” said Björk.

Björk added that she knew a woman named Blær.  Accordingly, this Blær Guðmundsdóttir, born in 1973 is the only legal Blær in Iceland, named after a character in Nobel Prize in literature winning author Halldór Laxness’s 1957 novel, Brekkukotsannáll (The Fish Can Sing).  The author was friends with Blær Guðmundsdóttir’s parents, and may have influenced the Committee’s decision to approve the name.

Björk’s petition to have her daughter’s name recognized was rejected after she named Blær.  However, now Björk and Blær and have brought suit against the Ministry of the Interior for Blær’s right to legally use her name.  Their case is currently before a District Court, and a verdict is expected within the month, possibly on January 25.  Björk and Blær are prepared to take their case all the way to Iceland’s Supreme Court.

“The law is pretty straightforward so in many cases it’s clearly going to be a yes or a no,” said Agusta Thorbergsdottir, the head of the government committee of three people which hears naming cases.

The Human Name Committee has, however, allowed other masculine words to become girl’s names, among them “auður” (wealth) and “ilmur” (scent).

Blær’s situation is not unique.  In the country of 320 thousand, about 200 people over the age of one year have no name, and are instead listed in the National Registry as merely stúlka (girl) or drengur (boy).  In some cases this is because the parents have not yet submitted information to the Registry or the children are living abroad.  However, as is the case with Blær, the Human Name Committee may not have approved the person’s name.

First names hold particular importance in Iceland, where people are referred to by their given names and surnames are usually patronymics, derived from a father’s first name.  The phone book is indexed by first name, and even the president is called Ólafur Ragnar instead of Mr. Grímsson.

In recent years, the Human Naming Committee, which also has the power to veto adult name changes, has shown greater leniency, but still adhered to certain Icelandic language rules.  The name Elvis has been allowed, while names starting with the letter “c,” such as Cara, Carolina, Cesil, and Christa have been altogether rejected because the letter “c” is not part of Iceland’s 32-letter alphabet.

For example, Icelandic artist Birgir Orn Thoroddsen applied to the Committee to have his name changed to Curver and was rejected.  He said, “I can understand a clause to protect children from being named something like ’Dog poo,’ but it is strange that an adult cannot change his name to what he truly wants.”

Blær and Björk will continue to press forward with their first of its kind case.  In an interview, Björk commented, “So many strange names have been allowed, which makes this even more frustrating because Blær is a perfectly Icelandic name.  It seems like a basic human right to be able to name your child what you want, especially if it doesn’t harm your child in any way…and my daughter loves her name.”

For further information, please see:

Iceland Review – Many Icelanders Nameless in National Registry – 5 January 2013

Reykjavik Grapevine – Nobel-Winning Author Connected To Name Dispute – 4 January 2013

Iceland Review – Girl Named ‘Girl’ Sues State to Have Name Approved – 3 January 2013

Independent – 15-Year-Old Girl with Missing Moniker Set to Sue Icelandic Government in Fight to Legally Use Her Name – 3 January 2013

National Post – State-Approved Names Only, Please: Icelandic Girl Suing Government over Right to Use Her Name – 3 January 2013

RT – What’s in a Name? Quite a Lot, if You Live in Iceland – 3 January 2013