Minister for Justice Michael McDowell faced protests from anti-racism campaigners and Frank McBrearty junior when he arrived in South Belfast yesterday to speak to the SDLP.
Mr McDowell told reporters he was happy to support the SDLP and its South Belfast Westminster candidate Dr Alasdair McDonnell, despite Sinn Féin criticism that his presence at the meeting was "electorally driven".
Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams had earlier said that while the Minister was welcome in the North he queried why he hadn't also travelled North to support the nationalists of the Short Strand in Belfast and of Garvaghy Road when they were under sectarian pressure.
Sinn Féin Assembly member for South Belfast Alex Maskey said: "The presence of the most right wing, anti-republican politician on the island will do little to help the SDLP."
Mr McDowell said he noted some "partitionist" politicians opposed his presence in Belfast during the election but he was there as president of the PDs and an elected politician. He was honouring a long-standing arrangement to address the SDLP.
When asked was he not being partisan, he replied: "I stand shoulder with those who are shouldering the burden of standing up for democracy. I am very surprised by some who claim to be anti-partitionist who have some difficulty about me being here today. I am proud to be here in the company of Alasdair McDonnell. He is a good friend of mine and my family's. He is very brave and very forthright, and his politics and mine coincide. And I make no apologies to anybody for coming here to show that degree of solidarity in the context of an election or otherwise," said Mr McDowell.
"I am an Irish republican. I understand the meaning of the word republican. I am shocked by people throwing around the word racist in relation to me when their organisation segregated the Protestants and Catholics at Kingsmills and machine-gunned the Protestants.
"Those people are not in a position to lecture me on racism. Neither are people in a position to lecture me on deportation when their organisation is exiling people from Northern Ireland under threat of death if they return. That is very hypocritical indeed," added Mr McDowell.
As he was speaking to reporters one of about a dozen members of the South Belfast Anti-Racism Network attempted to confront Mr McDowell but was prevented from doing so by an SDLP activist. There was some shouting, pushing and heaving and a "Wanted" poster of Mr McDowell was torn.
Mr McDowell spoke to Mr McBrearty junior, who turned up in Belfast to confront the Minister on his family's campaign to have their legal bills paid in the Morris tribunal.
Mr McDowell later confirmed that he had agreed to meet Mr Frank McBrearty senior next week.
