NEW ULSTER TINDERBOX
Thugs ‘turn clock back’ to Troubles – as Biden calls for calm
RIOTERS in Northern Ireland were last night warned they risked ‘turning the clock back’ to the dark days of the Troubles amid violence on a scale not seen in years.
Those orchestrating the mayhem were told there was ‘no justification’ for their behaviour – with fears of a seventh consecutive night of disorder.
Last night, Joe Biden called for calm. White House spokesman Jen Psaki said: ‘We are concerned by the violence in Northern Ireland.’
In the worst scenes on Wednesday, an estimated 600 people gathered in West Belfast. Petrol bombs, fireworks and masonry were hurled, a bus was set on fire by hooded thugs and a press photographer was attacked.
Gates in ‘peace walls’ separating loyalist and republican neighbourhoods were forced open and violence flared between factions from both sides. Some of those involved were said by police to be as young as 13 or 14, having been ‘groomed’ by paramilitaries and criminal
‘This is not protest but attempted murder’
gangs. And 12-year-olds were said to have been involved in separate disorder on Sunday.
The Police Service of Northern Ireland said officers fired six plastic bullets in Wednesday’s clash. Eight officers were injured and two men aged 28 and 18 were arrested on suspicion of riotous behaviour. A total of 55 officers have been injured so far in clashes which have happened on a nightly basis since last week.
While the height of Wednesday’s violence occurred around Shankill Road and Springfield Road, in West Belfast, there have also been incidents in Newtownabbey, Carrickfergus, Ballymena and the Waterside area of Londonderry.
Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis was yesterday sent to the province amid appeals for calm. Assistant Chief Constable Jonathan Roberts revealed police are investigating whether there was any paramilitary involvement, given the level of pre-planning and orchestration.
He said children were being encouraged by adults who stood by and clapped. He added: ‘The fact it was sectarian violence and large groups on both sides is not something we have seen in recent years. We believe there was a level of preplanning. The crowds grew in numbers and attacked each other with multiple petrol bombs and multiple missiles, including masonry and fireworks, and attacked police. It is very lucky that no one was seriously injured.’
Some of the most shocking images involved the bus whose driver was forced off by hooded youths. Its handbrake was then let off, sending it coasting down a road as petrol bombs were thrown on board. A demonstration was held in support of the bus driver outside Belfast City Hall yesterday. A fellow bus driver said: ‘He must have been absolutely terrified.’
Doug Beattie, Ulster Unionist justice spokesman and a member of the Northern Ireland Assembly, said: ‘It’s awful, it’s tragic, it’s shameful. It’s not as bad as it used to be but if we do not stem this, we could turn the clocks back.’
Mr Beattie, a former British Army captain, said the rioting was the result of a ‘perfect storm’ – stemming from loyalist resentment about alleged preferential treatment given to IRA supporters, and frustration due to Brexit arrangements and coronavirus.
He also accused loyalist paramilitaries which have turned to drug dealing in recent years of ‘grooming’ young people and ‘putting young kids on the streets to cause violence’. Mr Beattie said Unionist frustration partly stemmed from the decision not to prosecute 24 Sinn Fein politicians who attended the funeral of IRA terrorist Bobby Storey last summer, in breach of coronavirus legislation.
He added that the Northern Ireland Protocol resulting from Brexit had ‘upset the fine balance’ established in the 1990s peace process.
Kenny Donaldson of South East Fermanagh Foundation, which represents victims and survivors of the Troubles from both loyalist and republican backgrounds, said: ‘If someone was to lose their life, we could end up in a very dangerous place.’
Retired Army Colonel Tim Collins, who grew up in Belfast and whose family still live there, said: ‘The loyalists are frankly thugs and drug dealers taking advantage of an angry population and a lack of political leadership. There’s a huge power vacuum and gangsters are taking over.’
DUP leader Arlene Foster said: ‘This is not protest. This is vandalism and attempted murder. These actions do not represent unionism or loyalism. They are an embarrassment to Northern Ireland and only serve to take the focus off the real law breakers in Sinn Fein.’
Mr Lewis said: ‘The people of Northern Ireland deserve better.’ Boris Johnson and his Irish counterpart Micheal Martin discussed the violence on the phone before reiterating calls for calm.