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| Orange Order says police have questions to answer on riots | Orange Order says police have questions to answer on riots |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The Orange Order has said the police have serious questions to answer over the weekend's rioting in Belfast. | The Orange Order has said the police have serious questions to answer over the weekend's rioting in Belfast. |
| In their first statement since trouble erupted on Friday night the Order said it had been consistent and unambiguous in its appeals that violence had no place in the planned protests. | In their first statement since trouble erupted on Friday night the Order said it had been consistent and unambiguous in its appeals that violence had no place in the planned protests. |
| A police officer was injured on Sunday during a third night of trouble in north Belfast. | |
| Officers were attacked in the Woodvale area of the city. | Officers were attacked in the Woodvale area of the city. |
| It followed more serious rioting on Friday and Saturday nights after a Parades Commission determination that a parade by three Ligoniel lodges would not be allowed to march past shops at Ardoyne on its return journey from the main Belfast 12 July demonstration. | |
| The Orange Order said that the Parades Commission must bear responsibility for the rioting. | |
| The statement said: "There will be the blame game and point scoring by all for the events that unfolded, however the Orange institution will not be scapegoated for where the responsibility for this crisis truly lies - at the door of the Parades Commission." | |
| Alleged attacks | |
| It added: "The violence, which we condemn, cannot be used as an excuse for not addressing the issues that have been raised by this ludicrous determination, a shared future, community relations and nationalists' intolerance. Issues that require a political response and solution." | |
| The Order claimed that the rioting on Friday began when police used water cannon and fired baton rounds into the crowd on the Woodvale Road without warning after stones had been thrown at police lines. | |
| It said: "Those who had come for a peaceful protest were soaked and injured, leading to anger amongst many of those gathered." | |
| The statement also detailed a number of alleged attacks on Orangemen in Belfast on 12 July, and a sustained attack on marchers in east Belfast from nationalists in the Short Strand area. | |
| The Order said: "The PSNI (Police Service of Northern Ireland) have serious questions to answer, not least, with so many police officers available, why were they unable to stop clearly orchestrated attacks." | |
| Sunday night's trouble followed an earlier stand-off involving loyalists, some Orangemen and police at Twaddell Avenue opposite the nationalist Ardoyne shop fronts. | |
| The disturbances started just before midnight. They were sporadic and lasted for less than an hour. | The disturbances started just before midnight. They were sporadic and lasted for less than an hour. |
| It started with a small number of petrol bombs being thrown by a crowd of youths along the Woodvale Road, where the Orange Order was blocked by police from walking up on Friday, and the scene of more intense rioting on the previous two nights. | |
| Stand-off | |
| Officers on foot and in police Land Rovers then went down the Woodvale Road towards Ballygomartin. | Officers on foot and in police Land Rovers then went down the Woodvale Road towards Ballygomartin. |
| A stand-off developed and the police came under attack again with heavy masonry, bricks and bottles as well as some fireworks. | A stand-off developed and the police came under attack again with heavy masonry, bricks and bottles as well as some fireworks. |
| Earlier an officer was injured when police went in to seize a stash of petrol bombs and they briefly came under attack. | Earlier an officer was injured when police went in to seize a stash of petrol bombs and they briefly came under attack. |
| The stand-off between police and more than 100 loyalist protesters - some of them Orangemen - at Twaddell Avenue broke up peacefully. | The stand-off between police and more than 100 loyalist protesters - some of them Orangemen - at Twaddell Avenue broke up peacefully. |
| In a separate incident, five people - all male - aged between 15 and 25 were arrested following violence in the O'Neills Road area of Newtownabbey, County Antrim. | |
| There was also some minor trouble in the loyalist Mount Vernon area of north Belfast where a car was burnt out and a barrier erected. | There was also some minor trouble in the loyalist Mount Vernon area of north Belfast where a car was burnt out and a barrier erected. |
| The Shore Road at its junction with Mount Vernon is now passable with care. | The Shore Road at its junction with Mount Vernon is now passable with care. |
| Forty-four police officers have been injured during the three nights of rioting and 49 arrests made. | Forty-four police officers have been injured during the three nights of rioting and 49 arrests made. |
| A number of people appeared at a special court sitting in Belfast over the weekend. | A number of people appeared at a special court sitting in Belfast over the weekend. |
| 'Stay off the streets' | 'Stay off the streets' |
| Assistant Chief Constable Will Kerr said Sunday night's violence was not as severe as on the previous nights. | |
| "People just need to be calm and they just need to stay off the streets for the next few nights," he said. | "People just need to be calm and they just need to stay off the streets for the next few nights," he said. |
| "There is a volatility out there that's very obvious to the people who have been on the streets of north Belfast. | "There is a volatility out there that's very obvious to the people who have been on the streets of north Belfast. |
| "If you bring people out onto the streets, you need to have calm and you need to have control and we didn't see either of those things over the weekend. | "If you bring people out onto the streets, you need to have calm and you need to have control and we didn't see either of those things over the weekend. |
| "We will continue to make arrests over the next few nights and we will put courts on every single day if we need to." | "We will continue to make arrests over the next few nights and we will put courts on every single day if we need to." |
| Justice Minister David Ford said he had talked to one of the mutual aid officers from another UK police service who told him in a short time on the frontline a laser had been shone at him, a petrol bomb thrown at him and he saw a PSNI officer fire a plastic bullet at rioters. | Justice Minister David Ford said he had talked to one of the mutual aid officers from another UK police service who told him in a short time on the frontline a laser had been shone at him, a petrol bomb thrown at him and he saw a PSNI officer fire a plastic bullet at rioters. |
| "People need to be aware of the consequences - to the image of Northern Ireland, to the police officers who are injured and to the lives of those getting involved," Mr Ford said. | "People need to be aware of the consequences - to the image of Northern Ireland, to the police officers who are injured and to the lives of those getting involved," Mr Ford said. |
| "They are criminals. They are carrying out acts of violence and people should help identify them." | "They are criminals. They are carrying out acts of violence and people should help identify them." |
| 'Cool heads' | 'Cool heads' |
| Earlier on Sunday, Northern Ireland's First Minister Peter Robinson appealed for an end to the violence. | Earlier on Sunday, Northern Ireland's First Minister Peter Robinson appealed for an end to the violence. |
| Mr Robinson said: "It's very important that cool heads prevail in these circumstances and I hope people will obey the announcement and statement by the Orange institution that people should desist from violence." | Mr Robinson said: "It's very important that cool heads prevail in these circumstances and I hope people will obey the announcement and statement by the Orange institution that people should desist from violence." |
| Northern Ireland Secretary Theresa Villiers said the Orange leadership should reflect on its role in the run-up to the Twelfth. | Northern Ireland Secretary Theresa Villiers said the Orange leadership should reflect on its role in the run-up to the Twelfth. |
| "They have emphasised that they wanted their protest to be peaceful," she said. | "They have emphasised that they wanted their protest to be peaceful," she said. |
| "But they were warned by the chief constable that encouraging thousands of people onto the streets at a time of real tension involved significant risks." | "But they were warned by the chief constable that encouraging thousands of people onto the streets at a time of real tension involved significant risks." |