Derry initiative aimed at stopping attacks

The Community Restorative Justice (CRJ) group in Derry has urged the public to support a new initiative aimed at ending attacks on homes in the Fountain Estate interface.

The initiative comes after the latest sectarian attacks against houses in the Protestant Fountain Estate and on Alexander House, an old people's home in Bishop Street. Nationalist homes in Upper Bishop Street were also attacked on Wednesday night 7 September.

A spokesperson for CRJ said they intend organising a public meeting at which proposals will be put to stop sectarian attacks on the Fountain Estate and Alexander House. "Our proposal will be as follows -- a rota system to be set up where people will be placed at Alexander House on a nightly basis, a list of phone numbers of people who, if available, would come up at a moment's notice if people on the rota felt that they needed extra assistance, the parents of the children responsible to be visited by a delegation of politicians and clergy and asked for their assistance, the parents would be asked to give their phone numbers so that, if their children are seen again in the Fountain area, they can be contacted and hopefully would come up and remove their children from the vicinity."

The spokesperson stressed that CRJ did not intend taking the lead in the initiative, but were prepared to be part of it.