Racist rampage in Belfast
05 August 2024
A cafe on the Donegall Road which was
set alight.
On Saturday (03/08/24) Belfast witnessed scenes that can only be described as a racist rampage. In the afternoon mobs were roaming around streets in the south of the city attacking “Muslim” owned shops and restaurants as well as a number of hotels suspected of providing accommodation to asylum seekers. During the evening the premises of some other stores in the same district were firebombed and destroyed. This all followed from an anti-immigrant anti-Islam protest at that had taken place at Belfast City Hall around midday.
Some commentators, either out of ignorance or deceit, have suggested that these anti-immigrant protests had managed to bring together unionists and nationalists in a common cause. The sight of people standing together holding Irish tricolours and Union flags was referenced as proof. However, this is a complete distortion of reality. The people with tricolours were fascists from Dublin who were supporting a protest that was organised by, and was overwhelmingly composed of, Ulster loyalists. Even the most conservative nationalists in the north would not hook up with loyalists. What unites the Dublin fascists and the loyalists is bigotry and criminality.
As stated above the most serious trouble began later on in the south of the city. A large degree of responsibility for this lies with the PSNI who allowed the group that had been in the city centre to march towards the University area where the Belfast Islamic Centre is located. As the march progressed it was swelled by people coming out of adjacent loyalist areas such as Sandy Row and Donegall Pass. While the road to the Islamic Centre was blocked the entrance to Botanic Avenue, the most ethnically diverse part of the city, was left completely open. A mob of around two hundred, many of whom were masked and armed with bottles and bricks, were free to roam along this street attacking shops and cafes as they went. The sectarian, as well as the racist character, of this mob was revealed by their attempt at an incursion into the predominantly nationalist Lower Ormeau area. This was only thwarted when local residents quickly mobilised to challenge the racists. Again, the police were nowhere to be seen. There was no police protection for the businesses that were later destroyed in arson attacks despite them being very obvious targets.
The most significant opposition to the racists was the counter demo that took place at Belfast City Hall organised by United Against Racism and endorsed by a range of NGOs. This demo drew around a thousand people, significantly more than those at the racist protest across the road. Political parties supporting the counter protest included Alliance, the SDLP, Sinn Fein, the Greens and PbP, with their representatives taking the opportunity to address the crowd. The counter protest was also addressed by Patrick Mulholland of NIPSA and RMT leader Mick Lynch. Despite a clear trade union influence over the event their presence was felt rather than seen. There were no trade unions listed among the sponsors and the only trade union banners on display were those from NIPSA. Indeed, the trade union leadership adopted a low profile in the run up to racist protests.
On Friday (02/08/24), at a time when the online calls for protests had been well publicised, NIC-ICTU put out a statement condemning racism in the most general terms. Most of it was about what was going on in England in the wake of the fatal stabbing attack in Southport. The only reference to the north was in relation to recent racist graffiti attacks on homes in Ballykelly. That these occurred in a predominately nationalist area, and used slogans such as “Irish Only” and “Irish First”, made it easier for the trade unions to speak out as they were within their comfort zone. A reference to a racist attack carried out by loyalists, of which there have been many, would have run the risk of being accused of being sectarian or divisive. This is something that the trade union leadership have strenuously avoided for many years. However, it renders their opposition to racism as very weak and insincere. This was summed up in the conclusion of the statement issued on Friday which urged:
all political parties and civic leaders to make clear their unapologetic opposition to all attacks of this nature, including the messengers of racism, islamophobia and sectarianism.Of course, unionist politicians never do. While distancing themselves from violence they also provide some justification by making reference to “genuine concerns” and “reasonable fears”. This was the tenor of the unionist response over the weekend. The DUP MLA for the area Edwin Poots said that while violence was “wrong and unacceptable” it was also the case that “people are angry and frustrated”. He then cited a range of public services, from health to housing, that have been in decline for a long period as a set up to the demand that “we meet the needs of people who have lived in an area for generations.” This is classic scapegoating; the clear implication is that services are in decay as a result of migration rather than the incompetence of the Stormont Executive in which he was a minister for many years. A brief statement issued by deputy first minister Emma Little Pengelly led off by defending “the right to protest, the right to have a view and to express it.” Further on she stated that “violence is not acceptable”. The import is that what happened on Saturday was a legitimate protest that got out of hand rather than the violent intimidation that had been intended from its inception.
This is pretty standard stuff from unionists who are long practised in tipping a nod to loyalist violence while distancing themselves at the same time. The nature of that political tradition is thoroughly right wing. It should be no surprise that unionism/loyalism aligns itself with racism, Zionism, fascism and every reactionary creed under the sun. Indeed, given its historical longevity, it could be argued that Ulster Loyalism has been an inspiration to the others. The record of loyalism, from the workplace expulsions of the 1920’s to the current attacks on migrant workers, has demonstrated that it is an enemy of labour. To treat it as a legitimate voice of the Protestant working class is not only wrong but dangerous. It is a betrayal of the generations of Protestant socialists and trade unionists who have stood against it.
The racist violence that we are currently witnessing can make people despair but it is not inevitable that it will prevail. The number of racist agitators is relatively small; opinion surveys show that their violent actions are overwhelmingly rejected. The problem is that the opposition is largely passive. If we are to defeat violent racism in the north of Ireland, or anywhere else, we need to activate the power of the organised working class. This is the only effective opposition. The experiences of Belfast on Saturday have shown that we can’t depend on the forces of the state to hold the line against racism; we also can’t depend on the political parties, some of which are already pandering and others who are in retreat. We have to build an anti-racist movement that has independent working-class organisation and activity at its heart. Given what we are facing, the urgency of this task could not be greater.