Rioting for the fun of it?
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Police forces turned out for the third night in a row yesterday to deal with violent rioters in Belfast. Politicians described the events as "recreational rioting" rather than attributing it to intensified sectarian tensions.
The rioting has left 82 police officers injured over three days, as Catholic protesters threw petrol bombs, concrete slabs and bottles at Protestant marchers parades and their police escort.
The riots come six months after Belfast took control of policing in Northern Ireland from London.
Irish lawmakers sharply condemned the violence as thuggery and vandalism. Police chief Matt Baggott described the events as "recreational rioting with a sinister edge".
Euranet’s Belfast correspondent Peter Taggart however, says the violence is more sinister than in previous years. “Different this year is the international dimension, […] people involved from England and Wales and we also suspect Scotland. If you’re at the riots, Spanish voices can also be heard.”
Furthermore, he believes sectarian motives are indeed involved. “The big difference this year [is that it] comes on the back of a renewed campaign by dissident Republicans, hardliners, terrorists opposed to the peace process,” he says.
The violence started after Sunday's annual Orange Day Parade, which traditionally marks the peak of Northern Ireland’s marching season. The Protestant march celebrates Prince William of Orange's victory over the Catholic King James II in 1690. The so-called Battle of the Boyne secured British domination over Ireland for more than two centuries.
The march has been notorious for its violent character, especially in the years before the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, that arranged power-sharing between the Catholics and Protestants in the province.
Since the agreement, the situation has become more stable, but marked by violent flare-ups especially in marching season that draw attention to the ongoing but still fragile peace process.
