NI police chief says riots shameful

Written By Unknown on Sabtu, 13 Juli 2013 | 19.12

13 July 2013 Last updated at 08:04 ET
Northern Ireland Chief Constable Matt Baggott

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

Chief Constable Matt Baggott on the riots in Belfast on 12th July: "Those scenes were both shameful and disgraceful."

Northern Ireland's chief constable has described the rioting in Belfast which injured 32 police officers as "shameful and disgraceful".

MP Nigel Dodds was also injured during the six hours disturbances on Friday.

Clashes developed when police enforced a ban on an Orange Order march.

The order called for widespread demonstrations after marchers were banned from a stretch of road that separates loyalist and nationalist communities.

It later said it was suspending its protest.

Mr Baggott said another 400 police officers would arrive from the UK on Saturday to provide assistance to police officers in Northern Ireland.

The chief constable said the Twelfth had been a "day of celebration" for many people and that the majority of parades had passed off "peacefully".

'Emotive'

"But I think this morning (Saturday) some of the leadership within the Orange Order needs to reflect upon whether they provided the responsible leadership asked for by myself and by the party leaders," he said.

"Some of their language was emotive, having called thousands of people to protest, they had no plan and no control, and rather than being responsible, I think the word for that is reckless."

Secretary of State Theresa Villiers said she "utterly condemned" the rioting.

"Attacks on the police are completely unacceptable and there can be no justification for this kind of behaviour," she said.

"This sort of behaviour does nothing to promote 'Britishness' or the pro-union cause. Rather it undermines it in the eyes of the overwhelming majority of people here in Northern Ireland and in the rest of the UK."

She said it was "right" that the Orange Order had suspended its protests called for the organisation to "call them off completely".

"It is the clear responsibility of everyone who has influence, including the Orange Order, community leaders and politicians, to do what they can to calm the situation. We need temperate language over coming days," she added.

Many families with children were caught up in the violence in the north of the city.

Petrol bombs, bricks and fireworks were thrown at the police who responded with water cannon and fired 20 plastic baton rounds.

North Belfast MP Mr Dodds was knocked unconscious during the riot and taken away in an ambulance.

The trouble started when the police blocked a road to enforce a determination made by the Parades Commission, preventing Orangemen from passing Ardoyne on the return route of their annual 12 July march.

The area has seen republican rioting in recent years when the parade was allowed to pass.

Clashes with police in Belfast

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

Clashes developed when police stopped loyalist marchers in the north of the city from passing a nationalist area.

The Orange Order had called for sustained protests at the decision but has since reeled back from that position.

Trouble

The BBC's Andy Martin in Belfast said the fear of the police was that the "genie may already be out of the bottle".

Trouble broke out when the parade was stopped on the Woodvale Road.

Mr Dodds was hit by a missile thrown by loyalists at the junction of Woodvale Road and Woodvale Parade.

Earlier on Friday evening, Mr Dodds had appealed for calm following trouble.

Continue reading the main story

Mr Dodds was taken to the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast. He was treated and has since been discharged.

Water cannon and baton rounds were used after a sustained attack on police in north Belfast. Police were attacked with ceremonial swords as well as missiles. Later on Friday night, police were attacked with petrol bombs on the Woodvale Road.

Petrol bombs

The Parades Commission ruling stopped Orange Order lodges from walking on a stretch of road in north Belfast that separates loyalist and nationalist communities.

Trouble also broke out on the Newtownards Road in east Belfast with petrol bombs being thrown at police lines.

Earlier, missiles had been thrown as a parade passed St Matthew's Catholic church.

Petrol bombs, bricks and bottles thrown were thrown, and water cannon was used by police, in both north and east Belfast.

Northern Ireland First Minister and DUP leader Peter Robinson appealed for "cool heads" and said his thoughts were with those "who have been injured this evening, including my colleague Nigel Dodds".

Nigel Dodds

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

North Belfast MP Nigel Dodds was injured in the violence that followed the Orange Order parade. Earlier he had appealed for calm and for people to refrain from violence.

The Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland has also called for calm.

Sinn Fein assembly member Gerry Kelly has blamed the Orange Order and unionist politicians for the violence.

He accused them of having a deliberate strategy that had produced "inevitable results".

Orange Order lodges in north Belfast, marched past the Ardoyne shops on Friday morning.

However, the Parades Commission, which rules on contentious parades, banned them from returning by the same route in the evening.

The ruling was that on their return, lodges would be stopped at the junction of Woodvale Road and Woodvale Parade.

Communities

They have been prohibited from walking between that point and the junction of the Crumlin Road and Hesketh Road.

The Parades Commission ruled that marchers would not be allowed to return along the part of the Crumlin Road, at Ardoyne shops, that separates nationalist and loyalist communities.

Claire McCleave

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

A woman was hit by plastic baton round

The marching season in Northern Ireland is a period of events from April to August, with the highpoint on 12 July when Orangemen march to commemorate William of Orange's victory over the Catholic King James II at the Battle of the Boyne in Ireland in 1690.

William III is revered by the order as a champion of his faith. The Orange Order commemorate his victory in their annual parades.

Many Catholics see the marches as triumphalist and sectarian with some traditional Orange routes passing through or past areas occupied mainly by Catholics and nationalists.

The Parades Commission ruling on the north Belfast parade was welcomed by nationalist politicians but angered unionists.


Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang

NI police chief says riots shameful

Dengan url

http://cangkirtehhangat.blogspot.com/2013/07/ni-police-chief-says-riots-shameful.html

Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya

NI police chief says riots shameful

namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link

NI police chief says riots shameful

sebagai sumbernya

0 komentar:

Posting Komentar

techieblogger.com Techie Blogger Techie Blogger