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Ku Klux Klan flag erected in east Belfast | Ku Klux Klan flag erected in east Belfast |
(about 3 hours later) | |
A Ku Klux Klan flag has been placed in an area of Belfast at the centre of a recent surge in racist attacks in the city. | |
East Belfast MP Naomi Long has condemned those who put up the symbol of the KKK movement, accusing them of heightening racist tensions in her constituency. | East Belfast MP Naomi Long has condemned those who put up the symbol of the KKK movement, accusing them of heightening racist tensions in her constituency. |
There has been a spike in racist attacks in Belfast, with the Police Service of Northern Ireland confirming its officers are investigating up to three racist incidents every day. A large proportion of racist attacks and intimidation is taking place in the loyalist east. | There has been a spike in racist attacks in Belfast, with the Police Service of Northern Ireland confirming its officers are investigating up to three racist incidents every day. A large proportion of racist attacks and intimidation is taking place in the loyalist east. |
The Alliance party MP said the appearance of a KKK flag off Island Street in the east of the city gives "an even more sinister edge" to xenophobic attacks in the area. | The Alliance party MP said the appearance of a KKK flag off Island Street in the east of the city gives "an even more sinister edge" to xenophobic attacks in the area. |
Long said: "Yet again we see those who wish to bully anyone different from them use flags and emblems to assert dominance and control over a community. To put up these flags in broad daylight shows just how brazen the culprits are. | Long said: "Yet again we see those who wish to bully anyone different from them use flags and emblems to assert dominance and control over a community. To put up these flags in broad daylight shows just how brazen the culprits are. |
"To use flags hailing a hate group such as the KKK is sickening and lends a further menacing element to recent events. It is essential that every right-thinking person unites against those who engage in racist, bigoted or otherwise intolerant behaviour and does so with consistency." | "To use flags hailing a hate group such as the KKK is sickening and lends a further menacing element to recent events. It is essential that every right-thinking person unites against those who engage in racist, bigoted or otherwise intolerant behaviour and does so with consistency." |
The annual benchmark report on human rights and racial equality by the Northern Ireland Council for Ethnic Minorities , released last month, said there were 982 racist incidents in 2013-14 compared with 750 such incidents during the previous year. | |
It noted that over the last five years 75% of all complaints to the Equality Commission in Northern Ireland about harassment in offices, shops or factories are related to racial abuse and intimidation. | It noted that over the last five years 75% of all complaints to the Equality Commission in Northern Ireland about harassment in offices, shops or factories are related to racial abuse and intimidation. |
Over the last year Northern Ireland has become one of the worst hot spots for racist crimes and race-hate-linked incidents in the UK, but the authors of the report say the region is home to only 1% of all the non-EU/EEA migrants who have come into the UK. |
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