Anti-immigration protesters from the Republic have been warned against joining demonstrations in Northern Ireland, with the Minister for Justice saying people will be identified and held responsible for any criminal activity.
“To anyone who has travelled North or is thinking of travelling, know this, gardaí and PSNI are working closely together and they will identify those responsible,” Helen McEntee said in a statement posted in social media platform X.
Four men have been charged by police investigating violence and disorder which followed an anti-immigration protest in Belfast on Saturday.
Ms McEntee said she had been speaking to Garda Commissioner Drew Harris and Stormont justice minister Naomi Long.
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“I’ve spoken to my colleague Naomi Long and offered our full support following the appalling acts of violence and racism over the weekend,” she added.
Gardaí are gathering intelligence and liaising with the PSNI after a number of well-known far-right agitators from Dublin attended Saturday’s anti-immigration rally in Belfast that descended into violence.
Several businesses were attacked, with property owners saying the Islamic community was deliberately targeted.
Police mounted a significant security operation during a lengthy confrontation between anti-Islamic protesters and those taking part in an anti-racist rally at Belfast City Hall during which fireworks and other missiles were thrown.
The force said it then prevented an attempt by protesters to march to Belfast Islamic Centre, but that sporadic violence broke out in other parts of the city.
Three police officers were injured in the disorder and the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) has said those involved will be dealt with “using the full force of the law”.
Four men appeared in Belfast Magistrates’ Court on Monday on charges linked to the violence.
First Minister Michelle O’Neill and Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly said there was “no justification for racism or for the violence and intimidation that occurred on our streets on Saturday”.
The Northern Ireland Assembly will be recalled later this week to discuss the violent scenes.
Stormont Speaker Edwin Poots said the Assembly will be recalled at noon on Thursday after a recall petition submitted by the Alliance Party and backed by the SDLP and Sinn Féin.
MLAs will discuss a motion condemning “criminal damage and targeting of businesses in recent days”.
The motion also calls on Ms O’Neill and Ms Little-Pengelly to finalise the draft Refugee Integration Strategy and associated Thematic Delivery Plan and present it to the Executive, and to bring forward the renewed Race Relations Order, and set out the process of replacing the Racial Equality Strategy 2015/25 by the end of 2024.
The PSNI said on Monday evening they were aware of social media posts calling for protests across Northern Ireland in the week ahead. It said officers will monitor the situation and will be engaging with groups likely to be affected by any protests.
A special meeting of Belfast City Council is also set to take place on Monday evening.
Ms Long said if there were any lessons to be learned from the policing operation at the weekend, she had no doubt the PSNI would learn them.
She told the BBC Good Morning Ulster programme: “We have people in our community this morning who have invested their lives in building businesses, in settling into our community and in providing services to our community, who have now seen their entire livelihoods wiped out in one night of sickening violence and that has to stop.
“We are already seeing now on social media people making preparations for another round of this this week.
“This cannot continue, we cannot have this kind of Islamaphobia, xenophobia and hatred on our streets.
“People have a right to an opinion, when it comes to immigration, but it needs to be an informed opinion, what we are seeing instead is radicalisation of people online through disinformation and outright lies.
“It is incredibly dangerous. If there are lessons to be learned around the policing operation I have no doubt whatsoever they will be learned.”
Policing board chairman Mukesh Sharma described the violence in Belfast as “deeply depressing and disturbing”.
He added: “We all have a real job of work to do to provide reassurance to the community that the violent actions of a few are not representative of our society.””
– Additional reporting: PA
