Belfast clashes reveal unresolved sectarian tensions

Police arrive to break up violence.

The worst sectarian violence to hit Northern Ireland in years raged for a second night in the capital Belfast on Tuesday, June 21, more than a decade after the historic “Good Friday” agreement steered the country toward peace. Our Observer in Belfast says the clashes show the country may never diffuse tensions between its Catholic and Protestant communities.

The fighting began in east Belfast’s turbulent Short Strand area late Monday evening after a group of men clad in combat gear and wearing surgical gloves pelted homes in a Catholic enclave with petrol bombs, before clashing with residents and police. As the violence raged for a second night, a photojournalist was shot in the leg amid sporadic gunfire.

Groups of masked men attack a Catholic enclave in the Short Strand area of Northern Ireland's capital Belfast on Monday, June 20.

Homes damaged in unrest. Photos published by @short_strand on Twitter.

Belfast is no stranger to sectarian unrest, although the size of this week’s clashes was surprising. Fighting between the two communities has played out over the last several years like a dull but constant hum – a noise its residents have endured by forcing it to the background when they can.

This week the noise became too loud to ignore, leaving many searching for answers as to what could have provoked such an explosive confrontation. The fast-approaching July 12, or “the Twelfth”, celebrations may be partly to blame. A holiday commemorating the 1690 Battle of the Boyne, which saw Protestant Prince William of Orange triumph over the Catholic King James II, the run-up to the Twelfth has been marked by heightened sectarian violence in past years. This year has proven to be no exception, stirring memories of the type of violence Belfast witnessed before embarking on its arduous road to peace.

Video posted on You Tube by jamesliverpoolfc on June 22.

“A lot of views ... are passed down generations, and people become bitter towards the other side due to the past”

Joy Stacey is a student in east Belfast.

The reason for the divide in our country nowadays is due to sectarian attitudes of both Protestants and Catholics, as Catholics are for a united Ireland and Protestants aren't. A lot of views of people are passed down generations and people become bitter towards the other side due to the past and perhaps the death of family members [at the hands of] terrorist groups during the ‘Troubles’.

The division has not impacted my life, as although I have Protestant beliefs I grew up going to a Catholic primary school and mixed with Catholics. Many Protestants grow up not coming into contact with Catholics [and] vice versa, resulting in a lack of understanding and perhaps gaining a stereotypical attitude. The divide makes me uncomfortable being in certain areas where there has been violence. As there has always been trouble in Belfast, the only way of coping with it is ignoring it and hoping for the safety of the people I know in those areas.

I think it is impossible for the division to be dissolved because the attitudes will always be there. Not everyone will ever be satisfied [over] whether Ulster is part of Ireland or the UK. I think the situation will remain the same unless the government makes a significant difference like Sir Ian Paisley and Martin McGuinness did [who served as North Ireland’s first minister and deputy first minister, respectively, as part of a power-sharing deal in 2007, marking what many considered to be a new era in the country’s history]. I think the government could work harder to educate children in the reasons for the divide and the differences between the two faiths".

 

 

Post written with FRANCE 24 journalist Rachel Holman.