The North's Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness has claimed that the peace process is at risk after a Loyalist parade led to three nights of rioting in Belfast.
McGuinness has blamed the Orange Order for the disturbances that left dozens of police officers seriously injured after rocks and other weapons were hurled at them.
According to the Irish Independent, members of the Orange Order's Royal Black Institution apologized to the congregation of a Catholic Church in north Belfast in the aftermath of its band members decision to ignore their ruling not to play provocative music during a march.
Protests by the nationalist community about the band's belligerence were quickly met with retaliation from Loyalist mobs, leading to three nights of rioting.
McGuinness claimed that both the Orange Order and Unionist politicians had tacitly encouraged the Loyalist bands to defy orders from the Parades Commission, the organization which was set up to defuse sectarian tensions in the north relating to the summer marching season.
McGuinness called the riots, which police responded to with plastic bullets and water cannon, a 'terrible display of bigotry and sectarianism.' He added that if Loyalists could not 'abide by the rule of law' they would be 'sowing the seeds of future conflict.'
Assistant Chief Constable Will Kerr told the press he feared that police officers would eventually be killed in these kinds of disturbances unless politicians stopped 'posturing' and resolved the parades issue. Kerr directed his remarks at both McGuinness and Peter Robinson, the DUP First Minister.
Both McGuinness and Robinson are to scheduled to hold emergency talks with Assembly members from north Belfast at Stormont Castle in an urgent attempt to end the sectarian violence.
Kerr has vowed to arrest all involved in the attacks on his officers. 'Let me be clear, we have made seven arrests already and with a robust criminal justice strategy in place there will be more,' he told the press.
Three men aged 18, 19 and 20, have all been charged with riotous assembly and will appear at Belfast magistrates' court on Wednesday.
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Switch to the desktop site to post a comment.IrelandNorth | Sep 12, 2012, 09:25 AM EDT
Looked to me like middle-class unionist knights and bishops were using their working-class loyalist pawns on the political chess board that is parliamentary democracy. Sadly, their is historical precedent for Ulster unionism/loyalism to resort to a Carsonian imperative if their conditional loyalty isn't indulged. Question is, will the government to which they claim loyalty have the backbone to face down threats to its legitimacy unlike as in times past.
seanomelb | Sep 08, 2012, 08:56 PM EDT
I wonder how many arrest would've been made if it were a nationalist riot. The hypocrisy of the DUP, they will not condemn the orange bigots and wish nationalists would go away if they (the DUP) had their way they would install an "Israeli" like solution and relegate nationalists to the desert.
seamus60 | Sep 08, 2012, 04:43 PM EDT
Warren. Look too at the statistics in relation to police casualties and so few baton rounds (plastic bullets) being fired. God forbid they would ever kill a protestant rioter. As for Martin, he should change the old cracked record. The peace process is history and exposed for what it really was. A scam.
seamus60 | Sep 08, 2012, 04:31 PM EDT
With respect no one was rerouted. The parades commission placed a restriction on bands playing whilst walking past the chapel and barred the offending band from the previous march taking part. Both were breeched. Only hours before the march sen unionist politicians including fm Peter Robinson signed a statement lamblasting the commission. Yet Martin Mc Guiness has failed to call out his bedmate on the subject.
warrenpoint00 | Sep 08, 2012, 12:30 PM EDT
The british loyalist orange mob paraded around the church with there drums and flutes singing "the famine is over why don,t you go home" and Nigel Dodds the member of the british parliament complained bitterly when this mob were asked to reroute their bigoted parade.This is the thrash that Irish nationals have to put up with every year in the north east of our nation.
warrenpoint00 | Sep 08, 2012, 09:33 AM EDT
Don't they need permits to Parade? Why aren't te Parades conducted in friendly territtory? Seems like the organizers and permitters need to rethink.
merefalow | Sep 08, 2012, 08:32 AM EDT
stamp on it hard or we will back where we started.and the majority of people do not want that.
seanomelb | Sep 08, 2012, 12:28 AM EDT
The rioting by Orange mobs in the north seems to have gone unnoticed by the British apologist who usually rant on this site.The fallsers and the Dano's of the world are hiding their shame.
peterson | Sep 07, 2012, 06:36 PM EDT
Rioting is no way to solve problems and does show how ignorant some idiots can be !!
aloistmartin | Sep 07, 2012, 05:25 PM EDT
Martin`s Whiny Hysterics sound like one of Alan Ryan`s jilted Lovers ! :):):)
cillowen | Sep 07, 2012, 12:31 PM EDT
I never thought it would be otherwise - and with southies many of them now in the british army, australia, canada, the usa and elswhere. Presbyerian John Michel whose hatred of the occupier expressed in his Jail Journal that sweet talking with the Saxon wont cut it - it'll take blood. Such words from an amazing human was quite stunning - this in 1849.
Murph46 | Sep 07, 2012, 09:57 AM EDT
Redbranch-go to your clearing your diary entry to get my entry to N.I. data