Northern Ireland police boss apologizes to nationalists for loyalist riots
4,000 people were involved in the protests last Friday night
Published Tuesday, January 15, 2013, 8:11 AM
Updated Tuesday, January 15, 2013, 9:30 AM
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Loyalists in East Belfast protest
Photo by Times
The Chief Constable of the PSNI has apologized to nationalist residents in Belfast whose homes were attacked by loyalist protesters over the weekend.
The weekend saw continued protests over the ruling in early December to reduce the number of days that the Union flag would fly above City Hall.
Over the weekend a group of around 200 loyalists broke away from the main protest route and marched through the nationalist Short Strand area where they clashed with residents, the BBC reports.
Baggott said during a press briefing on Monday: "Residents should not have been put through that. I'm sorry they were put through that trauma."
“We've seen another weekend of disorder, another weekend where inevitably as the weeks unfold, young people predominantly being brought before the courts with their lives being blighted by criminal convictions.”
He said police were still investigating the recent spate of violence connected with loyalist protests and were trying to identify those involved.
According to Baggott 4,000 people were involved in the protests last Friday night which left 29 officers injured.
Meanwhile The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) estimated that £15 million was lost to the economy over Christmas because some people avoided the commercial centre.
Belfast Chamber of Trade and Commerce president Joe Jordan said: "There is no doubt that the past two months have been incredibly difficult for traders in Belfast. We want to hear the first-hand experience of businesses, along with their views and opinions on the current crisis."
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seanomelb | Jan 16, 2013, 08:07 PM EST
Sean, fair point but I really
hadn't thought of the queen as a
kind of joint head of state.
That would most likely be a step
too far. However, in light of Ireland's sorry predicament in the EU, an historic realignment with Britain is an interesting notion. Britain remains, by far, the Republic's biggest export market and Britain, as of March 2012, had more exports to Ireland that to the so-called BRIC countries combined: Brazil, Russia, India and China. A powerful economic bond already exists.
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seanomelb | Jan 16, 2013, 05:43 PM EST
Tom a federation of Britain/Ireland sounds wonderful but fanciful as always the devil would be in the detail. Acceping the Queen as head of state is anathema to a lot of Irish people. AS I am Dublin born I say "no royal head of state for Ireland. A better option would be an Irish (32) in the commonwealth with Dublin as the capital where maggie is only an honoury head of state. Most countries in the commonwealth do not recognise her as head of state but head of the commomwealth.
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seamus60 | Jan 16, 2013, 05:33 PM EST
Baggot can apoligise till the
cows come home but it won`t
change the fact that should
the protesters be Nationalists preventing an OO parade walking the queens highway no apoligies would be required.
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seamus60 | Jan 16, 2013, 10:13 AM EST
IrelandNorth, your thought-
provoking commentary below
regarding a federation of
Britain and Ireland is not at
all far-fetched and, in fact, makes good sense, provided we can put aside ancient animosities - which I believe we can. It would dramatically strengthen the position of both islands within the EU, while membership of Ireland in the Commonwealth is an economic no-brainer. It can be done, provided we have the leadership and the will. Good post!
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IrelandNorth | Jan 16, 2013, 03:11 AM EST
Seanmor! There are also modern Europhobes south of the boundary that was never commissioned too, ya know! Europhiles are upper and upper-middle class, whilst Europhobes are lower-middle or working class. As far as this thoroughly modern [Europhobic] Millie is concerned, da north is a geological/topographical/geographical (and therefore politically) integral and permanent part of the rest of Ireland, (a self evident reality to everyone other than British imperialists like UUP/DUP/TUV/PUP/UKIP/BNP/BF and other such geo-political dyslectics in denial). Ergo, BOTH the Irish tricolour and the Saint Patrick's Cross (ie white flag with diagonal red criss/saltire, with uncrowned red hand of Ulster if necessary!) removed from the union jack rightfully belong there. In an Agreed Island of Ireland, pro-British unionists would be entitled to a 16.5 degree alliance with the Island of Great Britain (GB), equivalent to their percentage of the Island of Ireland's population. A provincially federated Island of Ireland, in a confederation with a federated Island of Great Britian, in a economic strategic alliance of the British and/or Irish Isles within the European Union (EU), and a partnership of equals within the Commonwealth of Nations (CoN), is the sanest way out of the centenary long impasse of partition. Majorities no longer rule minorities. Proportionality is where the future action is!
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Seanmor | Jan 16, 2013, 12:23 AM EST
The modern Europhiles south of the artificial border have little or no sympathy for Nationalist victims of the Loyalist violence in Belfast. As fat as these thoroughly modern Southerners are concerned, the North is a natural, integral and permand part of Great Britain and the Union Jack rightfull belongs there, not the Tri-Colour of green, white and orange.
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curtisjohnson | Jan 15, 2013, 09:21 PM EST
@6countybrittroll – “The loyalists were attacked as they walked past the short strand after the protest at the City hall. Let,s get the basic facts right IrishCentral” Yes, the violent supremacist/loyalist mob suffered an unprovoked attack and just happened to have some pipe bombs and bricks handy to attack nationalists homes with – right.
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johnshiel | Jan 15, 2013, 07:59 PM EST
law enforcement invlolves force.
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seanomelb | Jan 15, 2013, 04:27 PM EST
The orange thugs are chomping at the bit trying to involve nationalists in their dirty little parade of hate and bigotry.
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IrelandNorth | Jan 15, 2013, 02:32 PM EST
ALL of Ulster isn't British. In fact, even ALL of Northern Ireland (NI) isn't even British. Only 40% of NI population identified themselves as British only, whilst 25%/21% identified themelves as Irish/Northern Irish respectively, (a 6% majority!) (Source: Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NIS&RA) Household Survey, 2011). These loyalists lads need to get their facts right. And besides, Ulster was failed five generations ago when Messrs Carson, Craig, Crawford and Company (CCC&C) not only succeeded in partitioning a nation, but partitioning a province too. The Chief [Serviceor] of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), (An Serbhís Poílíní na Tuarscírt Éireann) is obviously underresourced, and should urgently call upon Án Gárda Síochána na h'Éireann (ÁGSÉ) for mutual backup and assistance, since civil unrest in Ulster adversely affects the other three provinces of Ireland. And since Willie Frazer was impressed in his dealingss with AGSE apropos taking his flags protest up to Dublin, the Leinster provincial/and national capitol, (from Belfast, the Ulster provincial capitol) there should be no problem with his loyalists flags protestors.
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bobby | Jan 15, 2013, 02:31 PM EST
@6countybrit the filth attacked nationalists houses. Plastic brits we call you.
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IrelandNorth | Jan 15, 2013, 02:19 PM EST
ALL of Ulster isn't British. In fact, even ALL of Northern Ireland (NI) isn't even British. Only 40% of NI population identified themselves as British only, whilst 25%/21% identified themelves as Irish/Northern Irish respectively, (a 6% majority!) (Source: Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NIS&RA) Household Survey, 2011). These loyalists lads need to get their facts right. And besides, Ulster was failed five generations ago when Messrs Carson, Craig, Crawford and Company (CCC&C) not only succeeded in partitioning a nation, but partitioning a province too. The Chief [Serviceor] of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), (An Serbhís Poílíní na Tuarscírt Éireann) is obviously underresourced, and should urgently call upon Án Gárda Síochána na h'Éireann (ÁGSÉ) for mutual backup and assistance, since civil unrest in Ulster adversely affects the other three provinces of Ireland. And since Willie Frazer was impressed in his dealingss with AGSE apropos taking his flags protest up to Dublin, the Leinster provincial/and national capitol, (from Belfast, the Ulster provincial capitol) there should be no problem with his loyalists flags protestors.
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IrelandNorth | Jan 15, 2013, 02:16 PM EST
ALL of Ulster isn't British. In fact, even ALL of Northern Ireland (NI) isn't even British. Only 40% of NI population identified themselves as British only, whilst 25%/21% identified themelves as Irish/Northern Irish respectively, (a 6% majority!) (Source: Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NIS&RA) Household Survey, 2011). These loyalists lads need to get their facts right. And besides, Ulster was failed five generations ago when Messrs Carson, Craig, Crawford and Company (CCC&C) not only succeeded in partitioning a nation, but partitioning a province too. The Chief [Serviceor] of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), (An Serbhís Poílíní na Tuarscírt Éireann) is obviously underresourced, and should urgently call upon Án Gárda Síochána na h'Éireann (ÁGSÉ) for mutual backup and assistance, since civil unrest in Ulster adversely affects the other three provinces of Ireland. And since Willie Frazer was impressed in his dealingss with AGSE apropos taking his flags protest up to Dublin, the Leinster provincial/and national capitol, (from Belfast, the Ulster provincial capitol) there should be no problem with his loyalists flags protestors.
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Tooreenagrena | Jan 15, 2013, 01:15 PM EST
Again it is notable that an irishsite is attracting the comments of 'professional' unionists
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