29 January 2004 Edition

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Adams attends Belfast anti-racism rally

Gerry Adams and other Sinn Féin leaders at the Belfast rally

Gerry Adams and other Sinn Féin leaders at the Belfast rally

Hundreds of people took to the streets in Belfast in a public protest aimed at demanding an end to racism. Protestors from a wide range of backgrounds carried hundreds of banners and placards bearing anti-racism messages as they assembled outside Belfast City Hall.

Representatives of all the main political parties were in attendance, including Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams, and a variety of speakers took the stage. Among them were representatives from the Chinese Welfare Association, the Islamic community, the Commissioner for Children and Young People, and various religious leaders.

The rally was organised by the Anti-Racism Network in conjunction with the trade union movement, and comes after a series of vicious racial attacks against members of the Chinese, Asian, African and Filipino communities.

But the scene shifted abruptly from the sublime to the surreal as representatives of several political organisations with links to unionist paramilitiary groups — including the UDA and the UVF — also arrived at the rally.

Spokesmen for both the PUP and UPRG continue to deny claims that recent racially-motivated attacks in the unionist Village estate in South Belfast are part of an orchestrated loyalist campaign. A report issued by the Housing Executive has revealed that racially-motivated attacks in the Six Counties have forced more than 30 families and individuals to flee their homes in the last year alone.


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