A major campaign to prevent violence on the streets of north Belfast this summer and stop children engaging in 'recreational rioting' was launched today.
John Loughran of Intercomm
Community workers, local church and political leaders banded together to hammer home the message that one of the most deprived areas in the western world has had enough.
Twenty thousand leaflets and posters are to be distributed across schools, youth clubs and the local communities in a bid to keep the peace on the interface streets which divide the loyalist and nationalist communities.
The campaign was launched the day before an often troubled Orange parade in the area which regularly sparks violence and sets the tone for the summer months.
There are hopes this year that the Tour of the North parade will pass peacefully after an accommodation was reached between loyalist and nationalist groups.
The new initiative has been pioneered by the North Belfast Interface Network, Intercomm, and LINC Resource Centre.
Belfast Lord Mayor Pat McCarthy welcomed the interface initiative. "Some of the most serious riots this city has seen in recent years were triggered off by bored children or teenagers who may well have thought they were just having a bit of fun that got out of control," the nationalist SDLP mayor said.
"The normal problems of anti-social behaviour by young people that can be seen in cities everywhere can turn into something much more dangerous in our divided society.
"At this time, when we are on the threshold of a breakthrough in inter-communal relations, when ground-breaking work is being done to reduce tensions, it is absolutely vital that some minor incident does not blow up into something more serious."
John Loughran of Intercomm said it was highly symbolic that Catholic and Protestant churchmen and Sinn Féin and Ulster Unionist politicians had joined them for the launch. Speaking at a news conference, he said: "We want to highlight the dangers and risks, particularly among young people, associated with summer recreational rioting at the interfaces.
"The tragic reality is that what is seen as recreation can often end up in serious injury, disfigurement, families fleeing their homes or in death," he added.
Mr Loughran said it was of deep concern that 11 and 12 year olds were now routinely engaged in interface conflict. People living on interfaces lived in constant stress over the summer months, he said. Many were prisoners in their own homes.
PA