Thousands turn out for anti-racism rally after Belfast unrest

BELFAST: Thousands of people on Saturday gathered for an anti-racism rally in the Northern Irish city of Belfast after unrest sparked by a horrific stabbing.

Protesters carried placards with slogans such as “Hate is the only threat to our streets” and “Belfast stands against racism”.

The city saw two nights of disorder after video of Monday night’s knife attack – which showed a man straddling another lying in the street, slashing him with a knife – went viral across social media platforms.

A Sudanese man on Wednesday appeared in court charged with the attempted murder of Stephen Ogilvie, who remains in hospital.

Belfast mayor Rois-Maire Donnelly told the crowd a small minority could not be allowed to “spread fear… and hatred”, adding that she had received death threats this week.

“You’re the Belfast that I represent – resilient, compassionate and welcoming. Our city is stronger because of its diversity,” she said.

Protester Hilary Hunter, 63, told AFP she was there because she was “just disgusted at what’s going on, our beautiful country”.

“Everybody’s here just to show that those people… causing all the problems aren’t speaking for us,” she said at the rally organised by the Unite Against Racism group.

‘Masked thugs’

Northern Ireland secretary Hilary Benn on Thursday said the rioting had created a sense of fear, with some people being “intimidated” and “burnt out of their houses by masked thugs on the basis of the colour of their skin”.

He said there had been reports of people being stopped in their cars to be asked their nationality on their way to work, describing it as “completely unacceptable”.

Local councillor Seamas de Faoite of the SDLP, the main Northern Irish nationalist party, said people had turned out to show that they were “appalled” at the “racist violence.

He said organisations across the city had been working tirelessly to rehome people who were now “too frightened” to go back to their homes.

Around 3,000 people attended the protest, AFP journalists estimated.

Immigration is a hot-button issue in both the UK and Ireland and has helped fuel the rise of the hard-right Reform UK party, led by Nigel Farage.

Both countries have seen frequent anti-immigration protests in recent years, some turning violent.