Belfast flag riots: eight police officers injured

[alp227]

Source: The Guardian

Eight police officers have been treated for injuries sustained in rioting connected with loyalist protests over the flying of the union flag at Belfast City Hall.

Cars were set alight and two people were arrested during the disorder in east Belfast which began shortly after tea time on Thursday.

A Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) spokesman said officers came under attack from a mob of about 100 in the Albertbridge Road, Castlereagh Street and Mountpottinger areas. Petrol bombs and other missiles were thrown at the police during the disturbances which took place at a sectarian interface close to the nationalist enclave of Short Strand.

The PSNI spokesman said two people were arrested in connection with the street violence which has been ongoing since Belfast city council agreed last month to limit the number of days the union flag flies on top of City Hall to just 17 a year. It previously flew all year round.

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2013/jan/04/belfast-flag-riots-eight-police-officers-injured

[happyslug]

1. Sinn Finn and the SDLP supported the reduction in time the Union Jack flies on the building

SDLP is the Socialist Democratic Labour party, it is affiliated with the British Labour Party, which does NOT operate itself in Northern Ireland, even when Britain has a Labour Majority in the British Parliament:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_Democratic_and_Labour_Party

That Sinn Finn and the SDLP are the Majority on the Belfast City Council:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/dec/03/belfast-city-hall-flag-protest?INTCMP=SRCH

List of Political parties in Northern Ireland:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_political_parties_in_Northern_Ireland

[amandabeech]

2. This is a future that I do not want to look back to.

This time it looks like the Prods started it.

Short Strand sounds familiar. Was it prominent during the last round of the "troubles?"

The unemployment numbers, or better the percentage of people of working age without employment, are extremely high.