Sinn Féin MLA for South Belfast Deirdre Hargey is calling for a robust response from the PSNI, An Garda Síochána and the Northern Ireland Assembly to ensure there is not a repeat of the anti-immigration violence seen in the city last weekend.
There also needs to be engagement with social media platforms about the misinformation being spread, she told RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland.
The ring leaders online and on the streets needed to be stopped, she added. It appeared that many of the people involved in the violence were “young ones” who were possibly being controlled by others.
“We're not sure at this point. But a lot of young people would have been involved in last night's rally.”
Ms Hargey said that the situation in the city centre had been tense with people marching towards the Islamic Centre and that it was after 2am when the police brought it under control. Shops that were owned by members of ethnic communities had been targeted.
There was “a mob mentality”, she said, with one shop attacked on three occasions. There was even an attempt to burn it. People lived in apartments above the premises, so there was a real danger to life.
“We're engaging with the PSNI. We know it was a difficult situation to manage. On Saturday, there were other protests that were taking place throughout the city and beyond," Ms Hargey said.
"We did have some concerns in terms of the operation. So we're continuing to engage with the PSNI and An Garda Síochána, because we know that there were a small group that travelled from Dublin last Saturday. So we want to make sure that there's robust action.
“We hope that there's a more robust policing approach. We're going to be engaging proactively with the police this week.”
When asked about the use of the tricolour in Saturday’s protest, Ms Hargey said that no matter what flag was used, either the tricolour or the Union flag, “they do not represent the majority of the people in Belfast. And indeed beyond.
"They were there with one intent, which was to deliver a message of hatred, to create tension and fear within the community and to target minorities and to create vulnerabilities. And that's not what Belfast wanted.”
Ms Hargey said it was important that all political parties come together in condemnation of the violence that needed to stop.
“There needs to be robust engagement and action, follow up with the PSNI, but also An Garda Síochána. We need to target the online social media sites where a lot of this activity has taken place. And importantly, where misinformation is being given and fear is being ramped up. But we also need to proactively engage with communities, talk to people, and address issues, but also address the misinformation and the hate that's being circulated.”
