Riot police arrived at the scene of a fire lit by anti-immigration protesters in Belfast, as violent disturbances renewed scrutiny over loyalist paramilitary influence. The racially motivated violence unfolded in a nationalist area yet played out against a backdrop of union jacks and loyalist murals.
Diverging Community Reactions
The knife attack that triggered the disturbances occurred in a nationalist area, but the mayhem was marked by union flags. On Shankill Road, rioters hurled missiles and targeted foreigners, while Falls Road, adorned with Irish tricolours and republican murals, remained serene. History, demographics, and psychology explain some of the diverging reactions, but paramilitaries also play a role.
Paramilitary Presence
Security services and academics say there are more loyalist paramilitaries today than in 1998 when the Good Friday agreement ended the Troubles. One 2020 estimate put the number at 12,500, though many are inactive. The Ulster Volunteer Force and Ulster Defence Association, proscribed as terrorist groups in the UK, have endured despite a state-sponsored transition process.
These groups have split into sub-groups, some involved in drug dealing, extortion, and racketeering, while others cooperate with politicians and civic organisations seeking to phase them out. The riots have renewed scrutiny because they occurred in areas where paramilitaries wield influence.
Police and Paramilitary Stance
Assistant Chief Constable Ryan Henderson said police had no evidence paramilitaries orchestrated the violence. Instead, some paramilitary leaders chose neutrality to make a point: beware a vacuum. Loyalist activist Jamie Bryson warned, “The chickens are coming home to roost. You don’t want loyalists to play any part in society? Well, there you are, there’s the wild west.”
Under pressure to disband, loyalist groups decided not to intervene when trouble flared. Bryson said, “People don’t want you to exist on a Monday and all of a sudden want you to partially exist when it suits on a Tuesday? They’re saying very clearly: ‘We’re not stepping into these community policing roles any more.’”
Dilemma Over Engagement
This dilemma prompted former police officer and Ulster Unionist party councillor Linzi McLaren to urge authorities to engage with paramilitary groups to rein in rioters, “as unpalatable as it is.” However, historian Aaron Edwards, author of UVF: Behind the Mask, called that a mistake. “People see this as a lever to pull against race-based violence. But it’s completely indefensible to talk about engaging with paramilitaries given their long history of violence.”
Edwards warned that paramilitaries may prevent one form of violence while inflicting another. “For people in the rest of the UK, if things quiet down, they don’t really care how that happens. But it’s almost like the sausage factory.”
Context of the Riots
The unrest erupted after graphic footage of a knife attack left victim Stephen Ogilvie seriously injured. The suspect, a refugee from Sudan, was charged with attempted murder. Disturbances dwindled after Wednesday, but the mood remains febrile, marking Northern Ireland’s third consecutive summer of racially motivated riots.
Edwards noted paramilitary activity is lucrative and the riots could bolster recruitment. In Ballymena, however, a senior loyalist said he and colleagues intervened to avert violence, citing memories of last year’s riots that terrified foreign families. “People had had enough. You see the human side, it makes you think.”
Anti-Immigrant Sentiment
Some analysts attribute anti-immigrant sentiment in loyalist areas to a siege mentality, with people of colour taking the place of Irish rebels. Others cite falling Protestant populations creating vacant properties filled by new arrivals. Xenophobia is not confined to loyalist areas; evidence from the University of Liverpool shows most Catholics and Protestants believe immigrants do not make a positive contribution.
Author Richard O’Rawe said republicanism views racism as anathema, motivating community leaders to curb racist eruptions. Bryson said loyalist paramilitaries lack the civic structures for “soft power” and would require coercive control to stop a riot. “Do people think they’re going to send a nice letter to 100 masked men on the rampage? They would need to forcefully put an end to it.”
