Finian McGrath
Ceist:464 Mr. F. McGrath asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will intervene on behalf of the residents of Short Strand, Belfast, and stop sectarianism in this area. [15455/02]
Written Answers. - Northern Ireland Issues.
Finian McGrath
Ceist:473 Mr. F. McGrath asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs his views on the fact that 90% of the violence in Northern Ireland over the summer period came from loyalist sources; and the plans the Government has to protect the Northern minority. [15539/02]
Finian McGrath
Ceist:474 Mr. F. McGrath asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will investigate and support the Northern minority in their efforts against the pogrom that seems to be ignored by many people in the South. [15540/02]
Finian McGrath
Ceist:475 Mr. F. McGrath asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if his attention has been drawn to the fact that sections of loyalism are trying to goad republicans back to armed conflict; and his plans to tackle this serious matter. [15541/02]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 464 and 473 to 475, inclusive, together.
Over the past year and a half, and continuing through the height of the marching season this summer, intense sectarian violence has blighted a number of areas of Northern Ireland. Certain interface areas in Belfast have been particularly affected by sectarian attacks ranging from pipe-bomb campaigns to individual assaults. This sustained violence has resulted in a number of deaths and many injuries. Many families have been intimidated out of their homes. Since the start of the year, two young men were murdered by loyalist paramilitaries for purely sectarian motives: Daniel McColgan, a 20 year-old postal worker shot dead in Rathcoole on 12 January, and Gerard Lawlor, aged 19, shot dead on the Whitewell Road in North Belfast on 22 July. In addition, Chris Whitson, a 20 year old student, died on 12 August following a sectarian assault outside a nightclub in Portrush.
The situation was particularly acute in the Short Strand area of East Belfast during the summer months, beginning in mid-May. Officials of the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Government's representatives based at the British-Irish Intergovernmental Secretariat in Belfast were in ongoing contact with local elected and community representatives during these disturbances, including visiting the area on a regular basis to assess the situation at first hand. Because of this presence on the ground, the Government was kept fully appraised of developments as they occurred. In regular, often hourly, contacts with the British Government, we stressed the urgent need for effective and impartial policing and increased security measures to protect the residents of the Short Strand and other interface areas.
It should be acknowledged that, since late August, stronger and more focused security measures have been implemented in East Belfast and this is to be welcomed. Thankfully, over the past six weeks, the Short Strand area has been relatively quiet, the result in part of these more effective security operations and closer community contacts in the area.
The PSNI view is that the majority of the serious attacks have been conducted by loyalist paramilitaries. At a meeting of the Policing Board at the start of September, the Assistant Chief Constable for Belfast said that, although people from both sides were involved in disorder, violence and paramilitary attacks, a significant majority of serious violence was coming from loyalist paramilitaries, directed at the Catholic community, the police and the British Army.
It is a matter of deep concern that loyalist paramilitary violence has also manifested itself in an apparent feud that has claimed two lives and threatened many others. The new Chief Constable, Mr. Hugh Orde, has publicly stated that he is devoting considerable resources to deal with this very disturbing development.
The Government has consistently called for tougher police action against the organisers and perpetrators of this loyalist violence. Recent actions by the PSNI, including arrests, are to be welcomed in this regard but more needs to be done to assure vulnerable communities that the scourge of loyalist paramilitarism is being tackled effectively.
It should also be acknowledged that some Protestant communities have also suffered from sectarian violence. Such attacks have occurred in the Fountain area in Derry, in Cluan Place in the Short Strand, and in Protestant communities at certain interfaces in North Belfast.
The Government will continue to work closely with the British Government and the political parties to address the issues surrounding sectarian and paramilitary violence, to bring about more effective policing of interface areas, and to ensure that increased additional security measures are available to residents of these areas, when required, as speedily as possible.