a day ago
Northern Ireland 'one petrol bomb away' from racist murder, rally hears
Northern Ireland is just "one petrol bomb away" from a racist murder, a rally in the centre of Belfast has heard.
Hundreds attended the event at City Hall, which followed five nights of disturbances and rioting in towns in the region.
The rally at Belfast City Hall heard calls for political leadership in opposing racism.
Participants carried placards and chanted no hate, no fear, refugees are welcome here" and "when migrant rights are under attack, what do we do? Stand up, fight back".
Addressing the event, Amnesty International Northern Ireland director Patrick Corrigan said "the ugly face of racism has shown itself on our streets".
He added: "We have come very close this week to the loss of life.
"We are just one petrol bomb away from racially-motivated murder."
More police officers were injured as heavy masonry and fireworks were thrown during disorder last night, the PSNI said.
The scenes last night in Portadown were the fifth consecutive night of rioting in the region after serious disturbances in Ballymena on Monday.
The violence, which followed an alleged sexual assault on a teenage girl in the Co Antrim town, has since spread to several other parts of Northern Ireland.
More than 60 police officers have been hurt during the rioting.
A PSNI spokesperson said: "Disorder and violence broke out in Portadown with officers coming under sustained attack with heavy masonry and fireworks thrown at them.
"Officers used various public order tactics including water cannon to keep the public safe with no reports of injury to the public or damage to property."
Two males, aged 14 and 20, were arrested on suspicion of riotous behaviour and remain in custody.
Police in Derry dealt with disorder in the Tullyally area.
A police vehicle was damaged, with the front window smashed.
Damage was caused to playing fields and property in the Killeavey Road area of Newry as a large group set a pitch and bins on fire.
Stones were thrown at the windows of a hotel in Newtownabbey and a car was set on fire in the Hesketh Gardens area of Belfast, which police are treating as a racially-motivated crime.
Taoiseach calls for 'zero tolerance' to 'racially-motivated violence'
Meanwhile, Taoiseach Micheal Martin has called for a "zero tolerance" approach to "racially-motivated" violence on either side of the Irish border, saying what happened in Ballymena this week has been completely unacceptable.
Speaking to reporters at an event in Cork this afternoon, the Fianna Fáil leader said while "no government, no country or society is immune" to this situation, what has happened cannot be allowed to continue.
He said: "This is very, very dangerous, wanton violence but worse, the intimidation of families was quite shocking, the burning out of homes.
"No government is immune, no country or society is immune from this type of violence that is racially motivated, let's be honest and call it out for what it is.
"We must have zero tolerance and we must support the respective police forces, in this case the PSNI, the gardaí and others when they are confronted with shocking violence of families of this kind," he added.
Asked about what impact these incidents could have on wider society, Mr Martin said there is a need for "a better climate and culture within society".
He continued by saying online platforms must also clamp down on what is happening, saying: "The social media aspect of this is very worrying, there is a lot of incitement on social media.
"There is a lot of misinformation around this subject.
"There are people who have legitimate issues that need engagement with and dialogue on but equally then, you have the other side where there is just gross misinformation.
