Belfast urged to back anti-racism rally
The organisers of an anti-racism rally in Belfast today were hoping that thousands of workers would take to the streets to demonstrate their abhorrence of recent attacks on racial minorities in the City.
Belfast Lord Mayor Martin Morgan of the SDLP, Irish Congress of Trade Unions officials and Anna Lo of the Chinese Welfare Association were among those due to address a rally outside Belfast’s City Hall which will coincide with the UK’s Holocaust Memorial Day.
Anti-Racism Network spokesman Davy Carlin, whose organisation has helped plan the rally said today he hoped thousands of people would join them to register their disgust at attacks on Belfast’s Chinese, Pakistani, Ugandan and Filipino communities in recent weeks.
“Belfast is fast acquiring a name for itself as the racist capital of Europe,” he said.
“That is how it is being portrayed in the international press.
“What we would like to see is the community turning out like it had done in the past against sectarianism.
“What we want to see is a cross-community collective voice against racism in the tradition of the anti-sectarian rallies in the City.”
Earlier this month a 6ft wooden plank was pushed through a double glazed window of a house in the loyalist Village area of south Belfast where a Pakistani man and an eight month pregnant sister-in-law had just moved.
Pipe bombs were also thrown into the homes of black families last summer in the Village area and last month Chinese and Ugandan homes were attacked.
A local estate agent also recorded that he had been ordered not to rent property to ethnic minorities.
Mr Carlin said while the focus had been on recent attacks in south Belfast, it was important to remember people were encountering racial bigotry and harassment throughout Northern Ireland.
“This is not confined to one area or one class,” he said.
“There is also evidence of institutional racism and it cuts across all backgrounds.
“It is right that as we remember the Holocaust, that we also recognise that prejudice and intolerance faced by minorities in the past is still alive in the 21st century.
“To say nothing is not an option and the rally will allow everyone who opposes racism to speak out with one voice.”
Belfast was today hosting the UK’s main commemoration for National Holocaust Memorial Day.
London, Manchester and Edinburgh had previously hosted the event.
Today’s rally was also due to be addressed by journalist and civil rights campaigner Eamonn McCann and Presbyterian Minister, the Rev Ken Newell.
Irish Congress of Trade Unions Deputy Assistant General Secretary Tom Gillen said trade unionists were “disturbed and angry” at the recent spate of attacks on ethnic minorities in Belfast.
“Our presence at the rally should be seen as a clear expression of our disgust at these attacks and for our absolute support for the human rights of people of all nations,” he said.
