Distretto Nord

Gruppo lealista ritira i propri volontari da interfaccia

Loyalist peace volunteers withdraw from interface

Derry - LondonderryA LOYALIST peace group has withdrawn its volunteers from the Fountain/Bishop Street interface amidst what it dubs the highest level of community tension in the city in 15 years.

The North West Reconciliation Group (NWRG) said it has been actively involved in reducing tensions in the community and on interfaces in Londonderry since its inception in May 2008.

But following the arrest of one of its volunteers the NWRG has now withdrawn from the flashpoint where it says 68 sectarian attacks were waged against the Fountain Estate since October 1.

Leslie Mitchell of the Progressive Unionist Party (PUP) and David Malcolm of the Ulster Political Research Group (UPRG) issued a joint statement on behalf of the NWRG.

The group says the PSNI were heavy-handed in their treatment of a volunteer who was arrested last week, whom they said was key in reducing tensions during serious communal incidents on Sunday, May 17.

They claim the PSNI’s decision to arrest the man as he attended an incident involving a number of youths in the Trench Road area shortly after the interface flare-up in the cityside seriously undermined the work of the NWRG.

Mr Mitchell and Mr Malcolm said: “We believe that the arrest of one of our volunteers has implications that could affect every single interface volunteer throughout the province. We are facilitating a process that assists and supports the PSNI – and what do we get in return?

“In 15 years of doing this kind of work under various guises, we have never seen community tensions as high as they are right now.

“The PSNI have a responsibility now to bring forward proposals on how we address the situation because they created it, and until they step up to the mark – NWRG will not be placing their volunteers in the same situations again,” they added.

A police spokeswoman denied the claims stating: “A lot of hard work is ongoing to prevent any disorder and make interface areas safer for the people who live there. Officers are committed to improving quality of life for local people and working together is the key to achieving this.

“Anti-social behaviour is a concern and we understand the impact this can have on the lives of the local community.”

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René Querin

Di professione grafico e web designer, sono appassionato di trekking e innamorato dell'Irlanda e della sua storia. Insieme ad Andrea Varacalli ho creato e gestisco Les Enfants Terribles.

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