Children greeted with whistles on fourth day of school siege

The fourth day of the loyalist siege of Holy Cross Girl’s Primary School has passed off relatively peacefully.

As the group of schoolchildren accompanied by a large number of adults proceeded down the Ardoyne Road towards the school they were greeted with a wall of noise from loyalist protestors blowing whistles and sounding air horns as the children passed the end Hesketh Park and Alliance Avenue in the loyalist Glenbryn area of Ardoyne.

On Wednesday amid scenes of panic loyalists paramilitaries attacked the security cordon around the schoolchildren with a blast bomb, which injured four officers and a police dog.

The attack was claimed by the Red Hand Defenders, which in the past has been used as a cover name for the UDA.

However, on Thursday it is understood that before allowing the children, parents and supporters down the Ardoyne Road, police had received assurances from residents in loyalist Glenbryn that they would do everything possible to keep paramilitaries away from the protest.

In a statement RUC Assistant Chief Constable Alan McQuillan said that the protest on Thursday had seen a “significant change in the nature and character of the protest which had allowed the police operation to be adjusted accordingly.”

But he said that the first priority continued to be the safety of the school children.

However, while the loyalist residents have adopted a new approach, it is understood that the RUC have warned four of the Catholic parents that they have received threats from loyalist paramilitaries.

One of the children’s parents, Philomena Flood, said that she and three other parents had been told by police that they were under a death threat from the Red Hand Defenders if they were seen taking their children to the school.

The protest has been sparked by alleged attacks by republicans on the homes of residents in the loyalist Glenbryn area.

In an appeal to those involved in the protest Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams said that in a “genuine effort to reach out to those who have said that no one is listening to them” he was prepared to meet with anyone from within unionism or from within Glenbryn. (SP)