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Periscope by Niall O'Dowd

Fascist groups now seen as behind Northern Ireland flag clashes -- Gerry Adams claims fascist group have leadership role in flag rallies

Posted on Monday, January 14, 2013 at 07:00 AM
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Violence in Belfast over union flag continues (Photo: Broadsheet)
Violence in Belfast over union flag continues (Photo: Broadsheet)

Right wing fascist groups and mafia-type intimidators now appear to be at the heart of the flag protests in Northern Ireland.

Britain First, a fascist group based in Britain, has claimed to be at the forefront of leading  what it describes as peaceful flag protests. 29 police officers were injured over the weekend in clashes that threaten to restore the bad old days in Northern Ireland.

The clashes began last month after Belfast City Council ruled on December 3 that the Union Jack would no longer fly over City Hall every day but only on 15 select days and have continued unabated since.

Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams and PSNI Chief Constable Matt Baggott have both pointed out that outside agitation is forming a large part of the protest core.

Adams stated over the weekend that, “The vast majority of the protests taking place around the flag issue are illegal. Most are being organized by the BNP, (British National Party which is composed of fascists) the UVF and criminal elements, some of whom are well known drug pushers.”

Read more news from Ireland

On their website the British First group proclaims, “As protests continue across Ulster at the disgraceful decision to remove our flag from Belfast City Hall, Britain First has once again been at the forefront of peaceful demonstrations.

“Instead of going away, as those who would attack our flag and Ulster’s British identity had hoped, the protests are only getting stronger.

“We see protests in Ulster, we see them on the mainland – no surrender, we will never submit to this attack on our flag.

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

“Many thousands have turned out to take a stand against this disgusting attack, many thousands more are on the way.”

PSNI Chief Constable Matt Baggott said social media is playing a role and youngsters as young as 10 are involved.

We’ve had an 11-year-old in custody but I believe some of [the rioters] are as young as 10,” Baggott said.

“The flag has become a rallying point. If you ask them what they are doing, [some] wouldn’t be able to tell you. It’s easy for them to be manipulated. They are not mature enough to see the consequences for their own life opportunities or the bigger picture.”

He said the riots “gathered a momentum of their own, quickly, through modern communications, which is a new phenomenon.”

Baggott said there was an urgent need for the Parades Commission to tackle the protests. “There has been a vagueness about the need for protests to be properly authorized and regulated through existing mechanisms, which at the moment is the Parades Commission. There has been an ambiguity around this for some time,” he said.

Read More: Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams says “vast majority” of the Belfast protests are illegal

The deeper issue is that the unionists can feel the power flow away from them. The recent census show a nationalist majority is in the offing in Northern Ireland with the Catholic numbers one birth cycle away from a majority.

Does that mean a united Ireland?

No, not necessarily, but it means parity of esteem issues like flags will become even more important. See more: Right-wing Irish , Irish Crime

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73 Comments

15 - 73 | See all comments

Joe Glackin | Mar 02, 2013, 05:39 AM EST
Who else would have a leadership role only fascists as Loyalists are Neo Nazis. ????

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Joe Glackin | Mar 02, 2013, 05:36 AM EST
Who else would have a leadership role only fascists as Loyalists are Neo Nazis. ????

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Ron | Jan 30, 2013, 05:05 AM EST
The Fascists! Jaysus, what next? It'll be the Islamic jihadis stealing the limelight next.

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Scouse Tony | Jan 21, 2013, 02:47 AM EST
Thank you for your opinion wounded knee, I assume you are actually Irish and living in Ireland as I served with lots of lads from the north and south and oddly enough plenty of them were also Catholics and republicans, many of them were like me following a family tradition and found an alternative to the unemployment of the late 1970’s, we didn’t consider ourselves tools of imperialism we were too busy preparing for the cold war to go hot as surprisingly there was more to being a soldier than marching up and down and having TV’s hurled at us from the top floor of the Divis Flats. I could have sat on my arse and blamed Thatcher while they could have done the same and blamed the Brit’s but we didn't and oddly we managed to get a wider view of the complexity of the troubles. Sadly it seems that the inability of some to show the compromise that could have prevented years of pointless bloodshed over forty years ago is alive and well as is your apparent out of date hard-line thinking. For what it’s worth I was born on Glenalina Road, my parents moved to Liverpool in 1963 when I was three so I have a foot in both camps and make no apologies for that.

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IrelandNorth | Jan 19, 2013, 02:16 PM EST
During 1995 Drumcree stand-off between Orangemen and British military blocking their access to nationalist Garvaghy Road, Portadown Brethren demanded to speak to 'British' Office commanding. Turns out he was actually from Dublin.

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seamus60 | Jan 18, 2013, 11:14 AM EST
Woundedknee. With respect you`re displaying signs of the attitude used in the Bloody Sunday inquirey to exonerate those behind the scenes who gave the actual orders. How high up they go will remain beyond the pale because of the latest deflection, great time consuming issues relating to foot soldiers, who will no doubt be allowed keep their hero awards, never mind spending a single day in prison. Was that part of the back room agreement from day one. After all Martin Mc Guinness took it on himself to state that an apoligy would have been suffice in the first place.

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aloistmartin | Jan 18, 2013, 10:12 AM EST
Every Good Irish Catholic is an Irish Nationalist ! And the Tea and Bisquit Peacenik, Fat Kats in Dublin, Know It !

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WoundedKnee | Jan 18, 2013, 08:35 AM EST
Scouse Tony--You blame Ryaniar, joined up thinking etc. etc. How about you blame yourself? You admitted you were an imperialist using violence against Irish people. We used to have a slogan in Irish Northern Aid, and it's still valid: England, Get Out Of Ireland.

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seamus60 | Jan 17, 2013, 09:32 AM EST
Scouse Tony. You are right about these type of tourists. We only have to look at the OO parades during the summer months. Then certain politicians from both sides ( some of them claiming the title of Republicans)complain about Nationalists travelling from West to North Belfast in order to give solidarity and support to residents groups holding non violent protests at the same OO trooping through their area. Matt Baggot has said his officers just can`t sweep protesters off the roads, even though they do every year in Ardoyne.

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IrelandNorth | Jan 17, 2013, 03:34 AM EST
There's an interesting correlation between these BNP/BF hope and glory footsoldiers of imperialism and soccer hooligans proper, who used not only assault rival fans from other European nations/states, but rival fans of other English soccer clubs back home.

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Scouse Tony | Jan 16, 2013, 09:49 PM EST
Riot tourism isn’t anything new, on my last tour in Northern Ireland in the 1990’s I was deployed to Drumcree, the most vocal and most likely to be hurling bags of faeces among the loyalist protesters usually had Liverpool or Glasgow accents we arrested three with addresses off Netherfield Road Liverpool’s Orange Order heartland in one day. It was one thing to be abused by the locals but when it’s someone who lives half a mile from your family home you tended to get proper peeved. The British government were able to stop miners attending lawful protests during the miners’ strike in the 80’s but seem less keen on preventing interfering knuckle dragger's from taking brick hurling weekender's. I blame Ryanair’s cheap flights, lack of joined up thinking and people with too much time on their hands.

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seanomelb | Jan 16, 2013, 05:31 PM EST
McGrath is proud to call himself southern Irish like his poste they don't exists. He's as IRish as British pork sausages.

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seanomelb | Jan 16, 2013, 05:31 PM EST
McGrath is proud to call himself southern Irish like his poste they don't exists. He's as IRish as British pork sausages.

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seanomelb | Jan 16, 2013, 05:30 PM EST
McGrath is proud to call himself southern Irish like his poste they don't exists. He's as IRish as British pork sausages.

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seanomelb | Jan 16, 2013, 05:30 PM EST
McGrath is proud to call himself southern Irish like his poste they don't exists. He's as IRish as British pork sausages.

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