1 April 1999 Edition
RUC attack Waterfront picketers
Sinn Fein's Sean Hayes has criticised the RUC's handling of a protest against the Orange Order organised by the Friends of Garvaghy Road Committee, writes An Phoblacht's Padraig MacDabhaid.
The criticism comes after the RUC clashed with protesters, numbering over 200 people, outside the Waterfront Hall on Monday, March 29.
MacDabhaid, who witnessed RUC intimidation and Orange provocation, writes that a peaceful protest ended in violence after Orange Order members taunted nationalists about Rosemary Nelson and threw stones.
The protest was organised to coincide with an Orange Order event running for two nights at the Waterfront and billed as an opportunity for people to learn more about the Order. Gerard Rice of the Lower Ormeau Concerned Community, however, said that the invitation to learn more about the Orange Order did not go down well with nationalists while the Order continued to lay siege to the Garvaghy Road.
Trouble began at around 7pm as nationalists, faced by RUC members in riot gear, some of whom had Orange Order stickers on their riot shields, were taunted about the murder of Rosemary Nelson by a mainly middle-aged crowd going into Belfast City Council's showcase venue. Some of the Union Jack-waving Orangemen entering the Waterfront Hall began to throw stones at the nationalist protesters. Some nationalist youths, angry at the taunts and stone throwing, retaliated but were quickly brought under control by the local organisers.
At this point, members of the RUC began to attack protesters, leading to scuffles between the RUC and nationalists. The RUC, under the direction of Orangemen, began to point out members of the crowd and photograph them. The protest, which remained, dignified and surprisingly calm in the face of extreme provocation, ended with a meeting addressed by local Sinn Féin councillor Sean Hayes and Gerard Rice at which more protests were planned.
The criticism comes after the RUC clashed with protesters, numbering over 200 people, outside the Waterfront Hall on Monday, March 29.
MacDabhaid, who witnessed RUC intimidation and Orange provocation, writes that a peaceful protest ended in violence after Orange Order members taunted nationalists about Rosemary Nelson and threw stones.
The protest was organised to coincide with an Orange Order event running for two nights at the Waterfront and billed as an opportunity for people to learn more about the Order. Gerard Rice of the Lower Ormeau Concerned Community, however, said that the invitation to learn more about the Orange Order did not go down well with nationalists while the Order continued to lay siege to the Garvaghy Road.
Trouble began at around 7pm as nationalists, faced by RUC members in riot gear, some of whom had Orange Order stickers on their riot shields, were taunted about the murder of Rosemary Nelson by a mainly middle-aged crowd going into Belfast City Council's showcase venue. Some of the Union Jack-waving Orangemen entering the Waterfront Hall began to throw stones at the nationalist protesters. Some nationalist youths, angry at the taunts and stone throwing, retaliated but were quickly brought under control by the local organisers.
At this point, members of the RUC began to attack protesters, leading to scuffles between the RUC and nationalists. The RUC, under the direction of Orangemen, began to point out members of the crowd and photograph them. The protest, which remained, dignified and surprisingly calm in the face of extreme provocation, ended with a meeting addressed by local Sinn Féin councillor Sean Hayes and Gerard Rice at which more protests were planned.