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Home Page > News > Loyalist flag riots leave 29 police injured in Belfast as violence escalates

Loyalist flag riots leave 29 police injured in Belfast as violence escalates

Unionist leader Peter Robinson urges protesters to turn to the Good Friday agreement

PATRICK COUNIHAN,

IrishCentral.com Staff Writer

Published Sunday, January 13, 2013, 7:36 AM

Updated Sunday, January 13, 2013, 7:36 AM

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Northern Ireland’s First Minister Peter Robinson has urged loyalists to back the Good Friday agreement after another night of violence in East Belfast.

Northern Ireland’s First Minister Peter Robinson has urged loyalists to back the Good Friday agreement after another night of violence in East Belfast.

Flag protest riots left 29 police officers injured as Robinson appealed for calm.

First Minister Robinson has warned that the present unrest is costing the North’s economy millions of dollars and seriously damaging the tourism industry.

He has also stated that the only way to end violence in Northern Ireland is through the political process.

Robinson condemned those responsible for injuring dozens of police officers but claimed the protesters have become alienated.

Speaking to the BBC, Stormont leader Robinson said: “There are political issues and people that feel disengaged and people that feel if we are trying to build a shared future they are not getting their share.

“We took some difficult decisions, some might say historic decisions to build a shared society in Northern Ireland.

“I think it is important to tell the wider community in Northern Ireland and our friends in the rest of the United Kingdom that we are not giving up on that.

“We are very much of the view that we are determined that we build the kind of society where everybody can have a peaceful and stable existence.”

Robinson and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness are due to meet with the British and Irish governments this week.

He added: “We will make it very clear to both governments the condemnation that exists in the wider Northern Ireland community for the violence.”

Northern Ireland police chief Matt Baggott has praised the courage of his officers injured in another night of violence as riots broke out in east Belfast between republicans and loyalists returning from a protest at Belfast City Hall.

Chief constable Baggott said: “This was a difficult operation dealing with a large number of people determined to cause disorder and violence.

“My colleagues brought the situation under control with exceptional courage and professionalism.

“The vast majority of people are grateful for their efforts as fireworks, bricks and other missiles rained down on officers on duty last night.”

A spokesman for one of the groups behind the protests has said people should avoid demonstrations, if they need to visit places like hospitals.

His statement follows an incident in Rathcoole when a pensioner was blocked from getting to a hospital to visit his seriously ill wife.

Wayne Gilmore from the United Protestant Voice said: “Disruption is inevitable during the street protests and people should bear this in mind.”

Nster.com

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23 Comments

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seanomelb | Jan 16, 2013, 05:33 PM EST

Well if you do not know who you are Gordon how do you expect me to know.

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Gordan Duggan | Jan 15, 2013, 11:41 AM EST

seano, what on earth is a West Brit? Explain please.

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IrelandNorth | Jan 15, 2013, 03:55 AM EST

Seeming police inertia may be attributable to a number of possibilities. (i) Fear of recrimination by individual police officers who may be known to volatile crowds. (ii) A public relations exercise to show police being attacked by lawless-ist mobs. (iii) Inexperience of younger officers after years of relative peace.

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curtisjohnson | Jan 14, 2013, 10:35 PM EST

Compare the lengths the british terror state will go to in snuffing out peaceful indigenous civil rights protests (shooting into crowds of unarmed civilians, torture, internment, random harassment and brutality, specifically targeting children) to the passive crowd control tactics it employs against the orange supremacist thugs who are unleashing rampant and unprovoked violence against non-combatants throughout the occupied statelet.

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seanomelb | Jan 14, 2013, 05:47 PM EST

Now that the orange thugs have attacked and firebombed nationalists homes will they bring in the army to protect nationalist lives and property!! I think not,that only happens when the pro British are under siege. The hypocrisy of it all. The police are talking softly and carrying a "small" stick

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mamaginnty | Jan 14, 2013, 10:34 AM EST

Why do the media keep using the words ..protests and demonstrations, these from day one have been riots, causing millions in damage, the throwing of petrol bombs, injuring police who are just standing silent, and rioting down catholic area's smashing windows. Almost 2 months of this now, with one day given to peacefull demonstration on Saturday, This weekend almost 4000 loyalist have been rioting all over Belfast, and it will spread further if the police just stand doing nothing. If it was the other way round nationalists/catholics rioting it would be a competely differant story with the media and even our own RTE television in the south.

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merefalow | Jan 14, 2013, 10:00 AM EST

CENTURIES OF OPPRESSION AND DEATH AGAINST THE IRISH,now when some small measure of justice is blooming this crowd of oppressors will have none of it,agreement is not in their vocabulary,NO SURRENDER IS THEIR MINDLESS MANTRA.WHAT they forget,all of them north south uk,is that we are a multi culteral community where individual flags have little relevance any more,only to retard fanatics.Fly all the multi nation flags that now inhabit ireland and the uk and let the majority of people who just want to get on with peacefull living do so.

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IrelandNorth | Jan 14, 2013, 03:56 AM EST

The Rt Hon 1 st Min made an interesting Freudian slip in an interview from Stormont with Mark Mallet of UTV last Mon. About the flag protests he said: "It's time for the violence to start!" Then realising his slip, went on to correct himself hastily by saying "I mean end!" (YouTube it, unless censored!) When you speak out of both sides of your mouth at the same time, you're bound to get tongue twisted sometime. BBCTV Sunday Report showed Health Min Edwin Poots rounding on Alliance unionist moderate Naomi Long in a shameful display of self preservation. Only goes to show you, when you're a truth speaking lamb amongst ravenous lying hyenas (even within the same tradition), you'll be unmercilessly set upon for doing so, and being such. If there had been more Naomi Long's in the British and/or Irish Isles, Ireland may never have been partitioned. And a voluntary democratic alliance rather than an imposed imperial unionism between them would have saved countless lives, and created opportunities for everyone. Perhaps it's not too late. The future lies in the centre.

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seanomelb | Jan 14, 2013, 12:05 AM EST

"where have all the west Brits gone" afraid to condemn their patethic bullyboys out of embarrassment. Nice piece Joe Glackin.

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Joe Glackin | Jan 13, 2013, 10:19 PM EST

Riobinsons playing on their emotions of bigotry and hatred as usual . Then trying to cover his own Hatred by being Mr God fearing, cross community Politician. Howq many innocent Catholic murders were inspired by him ,Paisley,McCrea,Dodds, Wilson & Co,.

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warrenpoint00 | Jan 13, 2013, 09:55 PM EST

A little to late with words of peace coming from one of the perpetrator of the recent violent outbursts of unionism in the north east of our country, remember Peter your call to target the Alliance party was heard by your loyalist terrorist friends and they responded in their typical unionist /loyalist fashion of the old days.You are not fooling us Peter just like the leopard your skin is,nt going to change anytime soon.

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Joe Glackin | Jan 13, 2013, 09:06 PM EST

Unionist leader Peter Robinson urges protesters to turn to the Good Friday agreement is another political folly as these Loyalists wouldn't understand "Agreement". Moreover the Agreement ensures certain prisoners like Gerry McGeough should not have been arrested in the first place. Thats not the case though.

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Joe Glackin | Jan 13, 2013, 08:49 PM EST

Nothing about these Loyalists rioting, nor their treatment for public disorder etc surprises me. Iv seen them in action recently and the measures taken ,speaks volumes. Firstly, if these were Nationalist/Republicans/Catholics ,how many at this stage would be seriously injured or dead from plastic Bullets. Would Nationalist/Republicans/Catholics be allowed into central Belfast in the first place. Nothing has changed regarding our communities treatment ,to Loyalist /Orange/Masonic/Protestant aggression. Its such a folly watching how they are herded away with water cannons. The main thing here is,. these are poor victims of total injustice due to seeing less of their claimed flag . How frightening that their actions of rioting etc are nearly justified. They are frightened or whatever as to have something justifying their existence. They are Cultureless, moronic, nomadic beings etc. In the Blocks during the troubles Republican prisoners did courses improving their standard of education etc. Loyalists spent their time muscle building in the Gym. Like their Neo Nazi ,Arian ,supremacist, brotherhood do also. The KKK even come over to the marching season. I believe the BMP are in Belfast presently . They are fighting to hold onto an identity that never has been in existence.It would not take too long for the Police to control them but thats not the Protestant Church endorsed Orange/Masonic agendas. Anybody from our communities here have seen this, as also those generations gone experienced. ,

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seanomelb | Jan 13, 2013, 04:27 PM EST

In one breath Robinson flys the GFA banner and the rule of law and then gives succour to the rioters by sympathising with them because they are "disengaged". He never had the same sympathies for nationalists youth rioting because they were "disengaged" for over 50 Years. The unionists and there press minions like Mc Kittrick use disengagement as a euphemism to support the Orange bully boys. I wonder what is the real agenda here.

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IrelandNorth | Jan 13, 2013, 03:36 PM EST

He addresses himself to NI and GB, whilst denying the inconvenient geographical truth that Ulster-Scot immigrants cohabit the host island nation with c5m indigenous others. Surely a problematic paradigm in the context of the Good Friday Agreement (GFA) his political overlords have with them. The ultimate shared future is an united Ireland. The ultimate road blockage is the commissioned boundary. I appreciate he has to pitch his narrative cautiously not to spook the more reactionary footsoldiers of imperialism. But parition has gone on too long, and needs to be dismantled before its centenary at the very latest. These loyalist lads need to know that a united Ireland will not be as bad for them as they've been irrationally led to fear. Better to influence something from within that to fear it from without.

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