Mayor of Belfast hold cross community talks

Political leaders on the Belfast City Council have called for an end to violence on the streets of the city.

A meeting was called by the new Lord Mayor of Belfast Jim Rodgers in an attempt to find a solution to the recent upsurge in violence most notably in north Belfast.

In a statement issued afterwards the parties pledged to use every means at their disposal to end the disturbances.

The parties resolved to meet next week with local councillors and clergy from Belfast wards in Castle, Court and Oldpark in the city to access feelings on the ground and to hold separate meetings with unionist and nationalists community sectors, trade unions and business representatives to assess the damage already caused to both communities. The Lord Mayor also resolved to undertake a private initiative to meet with those residents directly affected by the recent violence.

Representatives of the Alliance Party, UUP, Sinn Féin, SDLP and PUP attended the 90-minute meeting while the DUP refused to attend because of Sinn Féin’s presence.

A statement from DUP headquarters on Thursday said: “A cross party meeting with Sinn Féin would be a fruitless exercise. Sinn Féin/IRA are orchestrating a sectarian terror campaign against vulnerable protestant communities in the north of the city. If they had the desire and the will, they would have already turned off the violence but it is clear that there is no desire to do so.”

The Lord Mayor expressed his disappointment at the DUP decision but said afterwards that the talks had been “very positive”.

Earlier on Thursday morning Gerry Adams and David Trimble held talks in Parliament buildings about the recent upsurge in violence. The meeting was requested by Sinn Féin and, they said, represents part of their strategy to engage in multi-party talks as a way of distilling the sectarian nature of the recent violence. (AMcE)