Minister condemns ‘racist thuggery’ as violence returns to Northern Ireland

The United Kingdom’s minister for Northern Ireland has condemned the return of mob violence to the province as “racist thuggery”.

Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Hilary Benn on Thursday slammed the previous two days of anti-immigration violence in the capital, Belfast. The return of unrest to the province, which suffered decades of sectarian violence before a peace deal was reached in the 1990s, has provoked deep concern.

Benn appeared relieved to report that the disorder on the streets of Belfast had lessened on Wednesday night compared with Tuesday. However, the racial nature of the mobs that clashed with police remained clear as they sought to get to a hotel previously targeted for housing asylum seekers.

The street violence sparked by Monday’s brutal stabbing carried out by a Somalian man granted asylum has not only heightened far-right-provoked tension in the UK over immigration, but has also brought back memories of “the Troubles”.

Over three decades, Catholic Irish nationalists and Protestant pro-British “loyalists” waged a violent war, rending Northern Irish society. With all sides wearied by the conflict, it was brought to an end by the signing of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998, in which the British and Irish governments, as well as most of Northern Ireland’s political parties, agreed on how Northern Ireland should be governed.

Asked during an appearance on Sky News if the violent scenes witnessed were 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 condemned “the sense of fear that has been created”, reporting that police had arrested 16 people on Wednesday night. Police and politicians say much of the violence had been encouraged and coordinated online.

“What we have seen is significant coordination from online social media activity. Some from people within Northern Ireland and some from … outside the island of Ireland,” Assistant Chief Constable Ryan Henderson told reporters, adding that there may be prosecutions related to social media posts.