Terror group issue warning to Holy Cross parents

With tensions in the Ardoyne area running high loyalist terror group the Red Hand Defenders have warned parents of children attending the Holy Cross Girls Primary School to stay away from the Ardoyne Road.

As the Catholic school adjacent to a mainly loyalist area reopened on Monday morning, loyalists claimed that the protest outside Holy Cross was peaceful until police attacked them.

Later in the day, loyalist community representatives met with the RUC Chief Constable. North Belfast MP Nigel Dodds, PUP assembly member Billy Hutchenson, community representative Mark Coulter, and Belfast Lord Mayor Jim Rodgers attended the meeting with Sir Ronnie Flanagan to protest about the police action in Ardoyne.

Following the meeting in an interview with BBC Radio Ulster Mr Dodds said: “Nobody in their right mind wants to see a situation in Ardoyne, but people have to realise that this is not a simple issue – it is extremely complicated. What people need to do is to address the issues that really go to the heart of this.”

Mr Dodds, who had attended the scene, said that as far as he could see there was no violence directed at the children.

He said: “The reality is that what was happening was that a lot of abuse and provocation was being directed by people who had no association with the school –who were not parents, who were not relatives, but were known republicans - towards residents in the upper Ardoyne.”

Mr Dodds said such scenes of sectarianism could not be justified. He called for further urgent resources to be put towards resolving the underlying issues.

Earlier on Monday morning, shortly after the protest, SDLP assembly member for North Belfast Alban Maginness condemned the situation at the Holy Cross Girls Primary School.

Mr Maginness said that the protests outside the primary school were unacceptable: “What is happening at Holy Cross is an affront to decency and cannot be tolerated or allowed to continue.”

At a meeting of the schoolchildren’s parents to be held on Monday evening, the school’s Board of Governors are to ask parents to use the alternative entrance to the school from the Crumlin Road on Tuesday morning.

Police moved in during an early morning operation to erect a security barrier and impose a cordon to keep back around 200 loyalist protestors outside the school’s main entrance. (SP)