‘Silent majority’ rallies to make its voice heard in Belfast call for peace

AN ESTIMATE crowd of around 1,000 attended a peace rally at Belfast City Hall yesterday to campaign against weeks of violent loyalist protest in Northern Ireland sparked by the decision to restrict flying the Union flag on the building.

Many young people and families joined the demonstration, but they pointedly stood on the pavement rather than blocking the road, a favourite tactic of loyalist protesters.

For a period of five minutes horns, shouting and whistling symbolised the silent majority speaking out, and a huge round of applause ended the gathering. One said: “It is about taking back the streets.”

Stormont’s First Minister Peter Robinson said politicians in Northern Ireland have not given up on building a shared future, and insisted the only way to end violence was through the political process.

Almost 100 police officers have been injured during weeks of loyalist protest over the Union flag.

Mr Robinson said: “We took some difficult decisions, some might say historic decisions, to build a shared society in Northern Ireland.

“I think it is important to tell the wider community in Northern Ireland and our friends in the rest of the United Kingdom that we are not giving up on that.”

Mr Robinson and Northern Ireland Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness are due to meet with the British and Irish governments this week.

The DUP leader said talks with Northern Ireland Secretary Theresa Villiers and Irish Foreign Affairs Minister Eamonn Gilmore would address all outstanding issues.

The First Minister added: “We are very much of the view that we are determined that we build the kind of society where 
everybody can have a peaceful and stable existence.”

On Saturday some of east Belfast’s worst rioting broke out since Belfast City Council decided at the start of last month to restrict the flying of the flag from the City Hall to designated days such as royal birthdays.

Sectarian clashes between loyalists returning from a city centre protest, and republicans living in Short Strand, were broken up by police, who braved bricks, fireworks and other missiles thrown from the angry crowd.

They responded with water cannon and non-lethal baton rounds.

Mr Robinson condemned those responsible for violence but said protesters in relatively deprived east Belfast had become alienated.

“There are political issues and people that feel disengaged and people that feel if we are trying to build a shared future they are not getting their share,” he said.

A total of 99 officers were injured and more than 100 arrests made during weeks of sporadic trouble, the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said.

Chief constable Matt Baggott, Northern Ireland’s most senior police officer praised his “courageous” colleagues and said the vast majority of people were grateful for their efforts.

Businesses in Belfast’s city centre have struggled to cope and the Confederation of British Industry has already warned that £15 million was already lost to the local economy because of the rioting.