THE four main ethnic groups in Northern Ireland believe the IRA and loyalist ceasefires made life more difficult for them and led to an increase in racial attacks, according to a report published yesterday.
A sizeable proportion of the Chinese community especially was dissatisfied with the police and felt it was not adequately protected.
Last week, the community offered a £2,000 reward to help catch the killer of a Chinese businessman, Mr Simon Tang, who was battered to death outside his restaurant in Carrickfergus, Co Antrim, last year.
The report, by the Centre for Conflict Studies at the University of Ulster, followed a year long study of the Chinese, Indian, Pakistani and traveller communities.
More than 60 per cent of respondents thought there was racial prejudice in the North, 44 per cent had experienced verbal abuse, and 52 per cent of Chinese had suffered criminal damage.
A majority of Chinese and half of the Indian people questioned did not believe legislation would help stop racial discrimination.
Mr Gregory Irwin, a research officer, said there was a feeling that ceasefires created difficulties for these minorities. Many Chinese were concerned about security at their premises and there was a perception that police failed to prevent crimes against them.
An increase in burglaries at Chinese restaurants, however, had led the RUC to give the community more attention, he said. "This development is to be encouraged and more liaison and consultation is recommended", he added.
The report found that the population of ethnic groups in the North was growing at a much faster rate than the general population. It recommended that the British government's community relations policy should not focus just on the Catholic and Protestant communities.
The British government plans to introduce race relations laws to Northern Ireland. However, the Workers' Party has called for the Northern Ireland Forum to commission a report on racism.
It also believes that an anti racism commission should be set up comprising representatives of statutory bodies, voluntary agencies, churches, trade unionists, teachers and political parties.