Main Points
- A water cannon was deployed by the Police Service of Northern Ireland on Wednesday to “maintain public order” during a second night of anti-immigration rioting in Belfast
- A 30-year-old man has been remanded in custody at Belfast Magistrates’ Court for four weeks after being charged with attempted murder
- The family of Stephen Ogilvie, the man injured in the knife attack, has called for calm in a statement that stressed the “deeply valuable contribution” migrants make
Key Reads
- Newton Emerson: Northern Ireland’s politicians have no power over immigration. London controls it all
The PSNI have issued a statement saying they would like to speak with the people in these images in connection with serious public disorder in the Belfast area on Tuesday.
“If this is you, we are asking you to come forward to police now,” the statement said.
“Anyone who can assist in identifying this person, please contact police. If you have any information or wish to submit photos and footage, including CCTV, mobile phone or dash cam footage please contact police. Please do not comment on this post with information.”
A report can also be submitted online using the non-emergency reporting form via http://www.psni.police.uk/makeareport/or you can contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at http://crimestoppers-uk.org/. You can also contact the PSNI on 101.
‘Immigrant families are frightened to go out’
A Belfast clergyman has called on politicians, community leaders and church leaders to send a message that immigrant families are welcome and are part of the community.
Reverend Brian Anderson of the East Belfast Mission of the Newtownards Road told RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland of arriving at his church on Tuesday evening to find a bus fully alight with young men in hoods covering their faces trying to barricade the road, Vivienne Clarke reports.
Anderson said he made efforts to stop them from barricading the road, but was unable to and they moved on to adjoining streets where he saw cars and houses being set alight.
“What this has caused, fear, uncertainty. The immigrant families who live around the mission here are fearful of their lives, frightened to go out. I was with a family last night, a Romany family. There’s 23 of them living in a very small terrace house, frightened to go out.
“I arranged for accommodation for them last night, somewhere safe, but they were so frightened to come out of the house, they refused to go.
“There is an issue for us in Northern Ireland about integrating them into our culture and accepting their culture so that the two can sit together. So I think we want to rally around them. Then the bigger picture is trying to convince the Protestant community particularly that racism is not the way to solve this.
“If you have issues with immigration into Northern Ireland, then let’s deal with those, but you’ll not do it. You’ll not succeed. It’ll not do anything if you do it by violence.
“So we have a responsibility, politicians, community leaders, church leaders, to try and find forums whereby the anger and the angst can be expressed, but in a way that’s non-violent.
“So we need to try and get forums to involve those people. Young lads in particular, that they see a future with their Muslim friends who they’re probably going to school with, who are probably sharing classes with them.”
12 police officers injured and 16 arrests during second night of unrest
Twelve police officers were injured and 16 arrests were made in the second night of unrest in Northern Ireland following the Belfast knife attack, Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn has said.
Rita Devlin of the Royal College of Nursing has told of efforts being made to ensure nursing staff at hospitals in Northern Ireland from the international community are supported.
Some of them were very frightened and afraid to come to work, she told RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland, Vivienne Clarke reports.
“Now I have to say our trusts have been extremely good in terms of trying to organise getting staff into work and organising taxis and things for them, but you know there were some staff couldn’t get home and had to stay and work,” she said.
Twenty-seven people have been made homeless as a result of the unrest, which broke out following protests over a knife attack that left a man seriously injured.
A 30-year-old Sudanese man, Hadi Alodid, was remanded in custody at Belfast magistrates’ court on Wednesday for four weeks after being charged with attempted murder in relation to Monday’s attack.
The family of Stephen Ogilvie, the victim, appealed for calm in a statement that stressed the “deeply valuable contribution” migrants make.
Anti-immigration protesters also staged a demonstration in Dublin on Wednesday afternoon, when a large crowd descended on Leinster House.
Protests also took place in Derry on Wednesday night, where police reported items having been set alight on the Ardmore Road.
Other protests, including at Stormont, took place peacefully.
Water cannon was deployed by the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) on Wednesday to “maintain public order” during a second night of anti-immigration rioting in Belfast.
Masked protesters hurled bricks and missiles at riot police at the Sandyknowes roundabout in Newtownabbey on the outskirts of the city, where more than 200 people gathered before 8pm.
Two water cannon were fired after officers clashed with the crowd as fires were lit in the street.
PSNI chief constable Jon Boutcher confirmed that 200 extra officers were deployed to Belfast to deal with any further unrest on Wednesday.
