Belfast racist violence
Deputy Coppinger condemned racist violence in Belfast and warned against far-right exploitation of a tragic assault. The Taoiseach echoed the condemnation, described the violence as dangerous, and said it was creating fear and instability for families and communities.
I condemn the horrific attack on the man in Belfast. I hope he recovers and I send my solidarity and hope the perpetrator is brought to justice. However, I also want to condemn the horrific violence that is being wreaked in the North since that attack. It is straight from the far-right playbook to use an horrific tragedy or incident when it is a person of colour who is the suspect in a violent assault and to implement its precooked plan of racist and chaotic destruction. People are being stopped and questioned about their skin colour, nationality and race. Homes have been destroyed. Families who have been in the North for decades have been burnt out or attacked in their homes. Businesses have been set alight. Outside actors like Farage and Musk are intervening and actively whipping up violence as well. There has also been an element of hand-wringing from some politicians in the North who have been involved in stirring up racism themselves in the past. I commend the activist groups that have intervened and shown that type of solidarity. The majority of working class people do not want the North to unfold into a racist hellhole.
Comment on this
I appreciate the comments Deputy Coppinger has made. The violence last night in Belfast, the racism on display and the burning out of families because of their ethnicity have to be roundly condemned. It is very dangerous. It puts Northern Ireland in a very difficult and challenging spotlight in terms of where the North goes into the future societally. Some areas are potentially becoming no-go areas because of the colour of someone's skin or their ethnicity, despite the fact they might have been living in an area for quite some time. It is making life very difficult for many families and causing anxiety and stress. It will demand a significant community response and a response from social services. It is a very serious issue. On the exploitation of this by far-right elements in particular, we have to be extremely vigilant of in dealing with this because it is happening in other locations and jurisdictions as well.