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LAST UPDATE | 6 Apr 2021
NORTHERN IRELAND FIRST Minister Arlene Foster has blamed “malign and criminal elements” for whipping up young people involved in recent violence and disorder.
Foster called for youths to desist from violence, adding that issues should be resolved at a political level.
It comes as the Stormont Assembly is set to be recalled for an emergency debate following days of violence and disorder in parts of Northern Ireland.
Earlier, the Alliance Party leader proposed a recall of the Assembly.
Naomi Long called for MLAs to debate a motion condemning the recent violence and attacks on police in loyalist areas.
The party will need the signatures of 30 MLAs for the Assembly to be recalled this week.
SDLP deputy leader Nichola Mallon confirmed today that the party will sign the motion.
It comes after police were attacked during another night of violence and disorder in a number of loyalist areas last night.
Further unrest swept across parts of Carrickfergus and Derry, with petrol bombs and other missiles thrown at officers.
In a statement, Long said: “Now is the time for leadership, for the PSNI and rule of law to be supported and for every representative to show the leadership their mandate requires them to deliver.
We are facing an extremely serious situation. Weeks of tensions from a number of issues, incited and encouraged by a number of people who really should know better, has brought us to this point.
“The violence has to stop, but so does the political cover given through vague comments and empty threats.
“There is no room for ambiguity – this violence must be condemned by a united Assembly, which fully supports the rule of law in Northern Ireland.
Cars, a JCB digger, a phone box and bins were set alight in the Waterside area of Derry last night.
Police said that a brick was thrown at a taxi, which was carrying a passenger at the time, on the Limavady Road.
Officers from the PSNI Tactical Support Group (TSG) attended the loyalist Nelson Drive Estate, where a group of youths clashed with police.
The surrounding roads were blocked with fires and barricades.
It marked the seventh night police came under attack in Derry.
The disorder started when police were dealing with a security alert in the Templemore area.
The PSNI said that no police officers were injured during yesterday’s spate of violence.
Derry and Strabane District Commander Darrin Jones said: “Last night, we saw further disorder in our city during which our officers came under attack again.
“Again, we saw disgraceful scenes during which cars were set on fire and property damaged.
‘Clearly orchestrated’
“This is reckless and criminal behaviour, and it has to stop. It is absolutely appalling and achieves nothing except harm to our community.
“I will continue to appeal to those in our community with influence to do what they can to stop this senseless behaviour.
I would also appeal directly to parents and guardians to know where their children are and what they are doing to ensure they do not get caught up in criminality and that they are kept safe and away from harm.
“I would appeal to everyone in the area to help defuse any local tensions and prevent any further disorder.”
Elsewhere, petrol bombs were thrown at police officers in Carrickfergus, near Belfast.
A crowd of young people gathered in the North Road area and lit a fire in the middle of the street.
Petrol bombs were sporadically thrown at police, according to witnesses.
Earlier, the PSNI had appealed to community leaders to put a stop to the disorder that has taken place throughout much of the past week.
Yesterday afternoon, groups of loyalists, some wearing masks, marched through the streets in towns across the region, including Portadown, Ballymena and Markethill.
The PSNI are investigating those marches, which appear not to have been notified to the Parades Commission.
Five officers were injured after police were pelted with petrol bombs and masonry in Newtownabbey and Carrickfergus, near Belfast, on Sunday night.
The total number of police injured in incidents in Derry and Belfast over the Easter weekend was 32.
Masked band
Petrol bombs were thrown at PSNI officers and bins and pallets set on fire in disturbing scenes in Belfast and Derry in recent days.
Last night, masked loyalists marched through Portadown, playing drums and flutes and waving flags.
Sinn Fein MLA John O’Dowd condemned the march, which he said was intended to intimidate the local community.
Children as young as 12 were involved in some of the incidents that took place over the weekend, police said.
Tensions have soared within the loyalist community in recent months over post-Brexit trading arrangements, which it is claimed have created barriers between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK.
Anger ramped up further last week following a decision not to prosecute 24 Sinn Fein politicians for attending a large-scale republican funeral during Covid-19 restrictions.
All the main unionist parties have demanded the resignation of PSNI Chief Constable Simon Byrne, claiming he has lost the confidence of their community.
The DUP leader Foster, meanwhile, said she spoke to youth workers across Northern Ireland who said part of the issue is the closure of youth centres because of Covid-19 restrictions.
“I’ve asked the Executive to look at that urgently and to get those youth centres open immediately … so those youths can come off the streets and come away from some malign influences that are in our society,” Foster added.
“I certainly think in a particular area of Northern Ireland that there are malign and criminal elements who are whipping up some of our young people.
“I do absolutely accept that that is the case in a particular area of Northern Ireland, but South East Antrim UDA does not have rite in other parts of Northern Ireland, so there are concerns right across Northern Ireland.
“The rule of law is very important to me, individually and as party leader, and last week when it was very clear that the rule of law had been damaged because Sinn Fein presented themselves as above the law, a special status for their funeral whilst everybody else had to deal with the restrictions at particular points in time.
“I recognise that there is huge anger about that. But if the rule of law is to mean anything, it is that everybody is equal under the law and everybody has to be equally subject to the law.
“So I say to young people who are angry at this moment in time – do not get yourself a criminal record. It will blight your life for the rest of your life, you won’t be able to go on holiday where you please to go. So please, please, desist from the violence.
“There is a better way and the way is through politics.”
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The irony of it , this situation caused in a big part by the stances taken by the DUP over the past few years ie backing brexit not backing May & then backing Borris. Keep it up yer playing a stormer !!!!
@Tim Oconnell: I’d make one amendment to your comment. I’d say it’s been caused ‘in totality’ by those stances.
But how can the EU deal with Boris? , he’s not a serious politician and can’t be trusted to stick to any agreement.
We are supposed to view the English ‘House of Lords’ as impartial commentators? FFS.
@John Kinsella: I believe the majority in the House of Lords were very much against Brexit. Amazing as it sounds, I’d trust their opinion to be more honest than the current British Government.
@John Kinsella: they have actually been the most honest, thoughtful and forthright in dealing with the brexit issue, compared to the house of commons.. , suppose it helps when u don’t need to be elected, or have to suck up Doris…
Nothing will happen until the next British govt rejoins the customs union in a few decades time, or Ireland becomes united, whichever happens first.
A truly United Ireland is the only solution
@Tom McHale: unfortunately Unionists are not interested in exactly the same way that Irish people are not interested in joining UK.
The problem didn’t exist before brexit. Brexit caused the problem. They should have looked deeper into brexit before creating the problem rather than try to make it work by having to have the EU change rules of international trade, which will be a huge mountain to climb and could potentially cause ripples throughout the world in terms of trade agreements.
The EU and the UK negotiated and put in place the protocol. Input from the Irish Government was a fairly important aspect of its adaption. Any right minded person would now agree that the out-workings of this arrangement are injurious to the economoic and political stability of the North.
There needs to be a concerted effort now to put in place a set of remedies that make trade flows easier (within the UK) and get greater buy in on the political front. The EU is a beaucratic institution. It will find it very hard to to adapt a set of rules that can accomadate the complexity of the region but it must try.The UK goverment needs to work much harder to find a solution and in the interim stop its arrogant ranting about the agreement they signed a year and a half ago.
It really come down to the fact that Brexit means either a harder border on our Ireland or a weakening of ties between NI and mainland Britain. The EU rightly has to protect its border and we all know how porous the border here is. The DUP see Brexit as a way of rolling back the softening of the border since the GFA which has always been their agenda. The alternative is going to mean a slow but continued move towards a united Ireland. As this report says, there are now more opportunities for economic development in NI so why all the shouting? We have plenty of sausages he ‘re if they are short of a few up north!
I don’t think a lordship is in any way a guarantee of an educated being who understands critical thinking.
Tell me what PHDs the Lords have collectively and I’ll tell you if they can come to sensible and permanent solutions.
@Margaret Doyle: @Margaret Doyle: To an extent, The Lords are less swayed by the current political situation in the UK, they are not up for re-election so they are in a position to push back against the current government.
The main issue, as I would see it, is that the EU were never going to give the UK an easy ride of things to prevent others thinking they can drop out of the EU with no consequence, but the majority of the imposition that has been imposed on the UK has landed at NI’s doorstep.
There is a lot of hard feelings from NI as they didn’t want Brexit but seems to have shouldered the majority of the hardship. Would see their position as their own government has left them to it and the EU/Irish has imposed these hardships and the entrenched sectarianism causes loyalists to blame republicans and visa versa as proxies for the UK & Ireland.
Both sides need to sit down and take the ridiculous mantra of “NI cant be treated differently from the rest of the UK” off the table. There needs to be a solution found to make sure that NI are taking their share of the pain of Brexit but only their share not the majority
@Margaret Doyle: your post is more elitist than the house of lords
The House of Lords….an unelected body! Brexiteers don’t really understand how things work…..
Nothing new in that report.
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