A spat over the flag fluttering over a local government building
might sound trivial. But in Northern Ireland, the decision to stop
permanently flying the British flag outside Belfast City Hall has
sparked some of the worst violence since the 1998 Good Friday peace
deal.
Dozens of officers have been injured in attacks on police
lines by furious protesters who, night after night, have thrown stones,
bottles, fireworks, and, sometimes, Molotov cocktails -- violence that
police say is orchestrated by the Ulster Volunteer Force, a pro-British
paramilitary group.
Gunshots were heard Saturday, although police
said later it appeared that blank rounds had been used. Monday night saw
a mix of peaceful protest and riots during which police used water
canon and fired plastic bullets, ITV News reported.
According to one pro-British politician, the demonstrators are
staging a “revolution with a small r” against attempts by Irish
nationalist parties to “remove their Britishness.”
Irish
nationalists say they wanted to stop flying the flag from outside city
hall because it is also used by pro-British paramilitaries and others to
mark out their territory in the divided city and “intimidate”
Catholics.
The Good Friday Agreement was credited with largely
ending three decades of sectarian violence known as "The Troubles,"
during which British troops were sent in to patrol the streets and at
least 3,600 people were killed.
It created an elected Northern Ireland assembly and devolved government in which power is shared between all sides, with traditional arch-enemies remarkably sitting side by side.
The assembly meets in an imposing historic building, Stormont, over
which the British flag flies for just 15 pre-agreed days each year. The
recent violence was sparked by a vote that agreed a similar policy at
local government level in Belfast last month.
Naomi Long, deputy
leader of the Alliance Party, warned Northern Ireland was now facing "an
incredibly volatile and extremely serious situation."
"I don't
think anyone should underestimate the threat it poses to long-term peace
and security in Northern Ireland," she told NBC News.
"If people
continue with violence, if it continues to escalate, if paramilitary
involvement in that violence continues to grow, there's a real risk that
we lose the progress we've made," Long said.
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