POLITICIANS have condemned violent disturbances in Belfast on Saturday, during which several businesses were damaged, with two being set on fire.
Trouble flared following an anti-immigration protest at Belfast City Hall, where an anti-racism demonstration was also being held.
Similar anti-immigration protests have taken place across England this week following the killing of three young girls in Southport on Monday.
More than 90 people were arrested on Saturday after several such demonstrations turned violent, with Merseyside Police alone reporting 23 arrests in the region.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said yesterday that anyone involved in criminal disorder should expect to feel ‘the full force of the law’.
Hate crimes
In Belfast, the PSNI said it had made two arrests as it continued to deal with disorder in the south of the city.
Fireworks were reportedly thrown during the demonstrations in the city centre, where anti-immigration demonstrators could be seen waving Tricolours and Union Flags.
Several businesses, including hotels and cafes, were damaged in the Donegall Road, Botanic Avenue and Sandy Row areas as protestors moved through the south of the city.
The PSNI said it was treating reports of criminal damage as hate crimes and later reported one business had been set on fire, however, the Northern Ireland Fire & Rescue Service (NIFRS) later revealed it had been called to two fires.
“We continue to deal with protest activity and sporadic disorder in the South Belfast area and are aware of a number of reports of criminal damage, which we are currently treating as hate crimes,” said Chief Superintendent Stephen Murray.
The NIFRS confirmed it deployed four appliances to tackle a fire at a café on the Donegall Road, leaving the scene shortly before 10pm only to return an hour later to a shop on fire in the area.
‘Wrong and unacceptable’
Edwin Poots, DUP MLA for South Belfast, condemned the violence but said the government must do more to help support people living in the areas affected.
“The violence witnessed tonight in South Belfast is totally wrong and unacceptable,” he said.
“Many of those engaged in the violence are not local and many in the local community are expressing their unhappiness at the rioting.
“People are angry and frustrated. Over the course of the last year, Councillor Tracy Kelly and I have raised many issues affecting communities in South Belfast, which Government bodies have largely ignored.
“Acts of violence and destruction of the area which we are trying to get investment into is totally counterproductive.
“Working people are being driven out of the community because housing is unaffordable and unattainable.
“Essential services such as access to GPs and dentists are incredibly difficult to access.
“It is essential that we meet the needs of people who have lived in an area for generations.
“This will only be achieved through engagement and by Government bodies listening and acting to meet those needs. Violence will solve nothing.”
‘Wanton thuggery’
Mr Poots’ SDLP counterpart Matthew O’Toole, who spoke at yesterday’s anti-racism rally, said the violence had in part been organised by ‘dark online forces’.
“We saw first-hand yesterday the wanton thuggery of the far-right,” he weote on social media this morning.
“Egged on by dark online forces and local coat tuggers desperate for relevance, inner South Belfast was subjected to a rampaging mob, many of whom barely knew the place.
“They represent nobody but themselves.”
Ulster Unionist leader Doug Beattie similarly criticised those who orchestrated the violence.
“Absolutely appalling. Those who incited this, not just the perpetrators, must be held to account,” he posted on Twitter.
Meanwhile, Alliance Party MLA Eoin Tennyson tweeted: “There’s nothing ‘patriotic’ about exploiting an atrocity, wrecking businesses and sowing division.
“No to racism, to Islamophobia, sectarianism, hate and prejudice. Always.
“The Belfast I know and love is — and always will be — a tolerant, diverse & united city.”
His words were echoed by First Minister Michelle O’Neill, who suggested the violence was not representative of Belfast, which she described as ‘a progressive and inclusive city’.
“Years of dedication and hard work from people across our community have transformed it for the better,” wrote the Sinn Féin MLA.
“Together, we will keep moving forward toward a brighter future for Belfast. A city that flourishes, free from hate and division.”