Benn condemns Belfast unrest as police arrest 16 after anti-immigration violence
Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn said mobs targeting people by skin colour amounted to “racist thuggery” after two nights of unrest.
By Daniel Okafor · Business Editor
3 min read
Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn has condemned anti-immigration disorder in Belfast as racist violence after two nights of clashes with police. The unrest has drawn concern because Northern Ireland’s recent history includes decades of sectarian conflict before the 1998 Good Friday Agreement.
Benn said Thursday that Wednesday night’s disorder appeared to be lower than the previous night, according to AFP and Reuters. But he said the character of the violence was clear, citing attempts by crowds to reach a hotel that had previously been targeted because it housed asylum seekers.
Asked on Sky News whether the scenes should be described as racist riots rather than protests, Benn said: “Well, if you are targeting people on the basis of the colour of their skin, how else can you describe them? That is racist thuggery.”
Benn also condemned what he called “the sense of fear that has been created” and said police arrested 16 people on Wednesday night, AFP and Reuters reported.
Police point to online coordination
Police and politicians said much of the violence had been encouraged and organised on social media, according to AFP and Reuters. Assistant Chief Constable Ryan Henderson told reporters that police had seen “significant coordination” through online activity.
Henderson said some of the activity came from people in Northern Ireland and some came from outside the island of Ireland. He added that prosecutions linked to social media posts may follow, according to AFP and Reuters.
The disorder followed a stabbing on Monday that prompted protests and then street violence, AFP and Reuters reported. The case has intensified tensions around immigration in the United Kingdom, where far-right agitation over the issue has grown.
Stabbing suspect remanded
AFP and Reuters reported that Hadi Alodid, described as a Sudanese national, has been remanded in custody after appearing before Belfast magistrates. He has been charged with attempted murder.
The case is not being handled as terrorism, according to AFP and Reuters. Court proceedings have been adjourned until July 8.
Democratic Unionist Party leader Gavin Robinson said Thursday that the condition of the victim, Stephen Ogilvie, was improving after he met Ogilvie’s family, AFP and Reuters reported.
Ogilvie’s relatives appealed for calm after what they described as a terrible tragedy, saying violence was not welcome, according to AFP and Reuters.
The unrest has revived memories of Northern Ireland’s long conflict, known as the Troubles. AFP and Reuters reported that Catholic Irish nationalists and Protestant pro-British loyalists fought over three decades before the Good Friday Agreement set out arrangements for governing Northern Ireland and was backed by the British and Irish governments and most local political parties.
This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.