Socialist Republicans Vow To Defend Migrants From Loyalist Intimidation

Socialist Republican groups have pledged to defend migrant communities following chaotic violence in the north of Ireland last night.

Dozens of videos on social media captured scenes of destruction in Belfast and Portadown, including houses, shops, and vehicles, including at least one bus and a police car, being set ablaze, and ethnic minorities being specifically targeted for intimidation.

The disorder has drawn widespread condemnation from Republicans, with several organisations publishing statements of solidarity this morning.

Following reports of minority ethnic families in Republican areas “receiving visits from masked individuals and telling them to leave the area”, Lasair Dhearg and the Republican Socialist Movement (RSM) have said that such incidents “will not be tolerated”.

“No one will be leaving our communities as a result of these visits,” said Lasair Dhearg in a statement. 

“Racism, and racists, will not be tolerated in our communities. There is and will be a response to any such incidents.”

According to a statement from RSM, “the Republican Socialist Movement is on the ground, and any attempt to harass, threaten, or force our neighbours from their homes and communities will be met with resistance and blocked at every turn.”

Anti-Imperialist Action (AIA) Ireland and the recently formed Conradh na Saoirse Náisiúnta (CSN) also condemned the attacks, with CSN urging “fascist scum off our streets”, and AIA putting the blame on loyalist factions.

For Republican communities, last night's scenes brought to mind difficult memories of the 1969 burning of Bombay Street, when loyalist mobs torched the entire Catholic terrace in west Belfast displacing hundreds of families overnight and became one of the defining sectarian atrocities of the early Troubles.

In a disturbing development, lists of “targeted” addresses across Belfast, apparently the homes of people of colour and migrant communities, have been shared on social media.

The Collective Action Tenants Union (CATU) Belfast has offered its support to members whose addresses have appeared on such lists, saying that it will continue to do so throughout the evening.