| Culzie | Date: Saturday, 2013-07-27, 5:24 PM | Message # 1 |
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Generalissimo
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| Sectarian rampage in Protestant area condemned ...NL 27/7/2013
POLITICIANS from across the divide have condemned "a sectarian attack" on homes in Suffolk in west Belfast.
It has been reported that the window of a house and four vehicles were targeted in Ringford Park in Suffolk at about 10pm last night.
It is understood nationalist youths were involved in the attack in a loyalist area.
Police have said they are treating the attack as a hate crime.
Earlier on Friday, police were called out to house party in Brooke Drive.
DUP Councillor for the area, Brian Kingston said: "This was a blatant and totally unprovoked sectarian attack on a small Protestant community in West Belfast.
"I welcome that there has been condemnation from both sides of the community. What we need to see now is names being brought forward to the police which will secure convictions for this blatant sectarian hate crime.
"No-one should have to live in fear of attacks like this on their house or property."
The councillor claimed that around "50 republican youths, both male and female, came up Blacks Road at around 10.30pm and carried out a totally unprovoked attack".
He added: "They smashed windows in at least four cars and at least one house in Suffolk estate. It is reported that the youths had been attending a party in the Ladybrook area. Suffolk residents had to come out onto the streets to defend their homes.
"Community representatives from Lenadoon arrived on the scene and condemned the attack. By this stage over 100 republican youths had gathered on Blacks Road near the garage."
Mr Kingston said the incident had "greatly increased tensions in the area".
In a statement the Ulster People’s Voice condemned "the cowardly and unprovoked attacks upon Protestant homes in the Suffolk area".
It added: "The PSNI must do more to protect the right of these law abiding Protestant people to live in peace.
"One must only look at the amount of resources put into protecting an empty row of shops in Ardoyne.
"These attacks once again are a symptom of the one way peace process that is trampling on the civil and religious liberties of the Protestant people"
Also condemning the attack was west Belfast SDLP MLA Alex Attwood who said last night’s attack "was appalling and is utterly rejected by the people of West Belfast".
"Those responsible must face the full rigours of the law," he said. "People are rightly shocked by this incident.
"There are great people all over the Suffolk/Lenadoon/Brooke areas. Its community representatives are widely acknowledged as being some of the very best leaders in good relations, not least with the challenges and history of an ‘interface.’
"That is the real character of local people - not the actions of the very few last night."
Meanwhile Sinn Fein councillor Matt Garrett blamed the trouble on "a drunken mob emanating from the Brooke area who went on the rampage in the Blacks Road area attacking homes and cars belonging to residents".
"This is disgraceful and was motivated by sectarianism," he said.
"There are people working hard at the Blacks Road/Lenadoon/Suffolk interface to make sure that residents can get on with their lives free from this type of behaviour. It is not representative of the people that live in the area and I would say a lot of those involved are from outside the area.
"I was in contact with the local PSNI last night to get more resources into the area to deal with the incident."
He added: "Anyone with any information about last night’s attack should bring it immediately to the police. The wider West Belfast community want to live free from intimidation and sectarianism, they will continue to strive for that despite the actions of this drunken mob."
A PSNI spokesman said: "At approximately 9.29pm, police in West Belfast received a report of a house party being out of control in the Brooke Drive area. A number of youths moved from the party into the street and there were reports of scuffles between the youths. It was reported that there were between 50 to 100 youths in the area. No offences were noted by police in regard to this incident.
"Police then received a report at 10pm that a number of cars had been damaged in the Ringford Park area of West Belfast. Four cars and the living room window of a house were damaged in this incident. Inquiries into this incident remain ongoing.
"PSNI are treating the criminal damage in the Ringford Park area as a hate crime at this stage."
Ulster Protestants consider themselves to be a separate nation. This nation they call Ulster
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| RSAUB | Date: Sunday, 2013-07-28, 12:14 PM | Message # 2 |
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Colonel general
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| Let's be quite clear on this, the only reason Sinn Fein condemned this attack is because they're winning over Suffolk by peaceful penetration. They are working on having the interface gate opened up, hopefully these type of attacks and the recent petrol bombing of a Protestant home and a bandsman beaten up will keep it closed.
Once Suffolk was a loyalist estate, were Irish Roman Catholics were put out when they tried to move in, now they move in and a growing number of mixed relationships, plus Sinn Fein/IRA education minister closing the local Protestant primary school over time may see some young Protestant families moving out towards local Protestant schools. In truth the area will soon be gone in a decade or so time, if even that long. The reality is West Belfast needs houses and there's plenty of extra land at the bonfire site in Suffolk facing where these attacks took place for new houses and more land available for new houses on the other side of the road where the primary school and football pitch are.
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