Belfast Lord Mayor Pat McCarthy yesterday hosted a special reception for an under-19 Indian cricket team, some of whose members were subjected to a racist attack in the city on Sunday.
Five of the teenage cricketers were chased by a gang of up to 15 towards Albertbridge Road on Sunday while the house where they were staying was later stoned in a separate incident. Organisers of the visit said the youths were terrified by their ordeal.
The SDLP's Mr McCarthy said he held the reception "to show the true face of Belfast to the teenagers and to underline that the ordeal they endured does not reflect the views of the vast majority of people in this city".
Alliance Assembly member Naomi Long said the attack represented "yet another low" for the city.
"This is another reminder of the need to destroy the scourge of racism in our society. This sort of incident merely backs up our reputation as Europe's 'racist capital'," she added.
"It is not enough simply to condemn this sort of behaviour - we need to take responsibility for stopping it. Racism and sectarianism are both outcomes of division and segregation, breeding ignorance and violence of this nature," said Ms Long.
She added: "This incident is particularly appalling as it happened to young members of a cricket team who were guests in our city . . .
"What kind of stories will they go home with?
"This kind of anti-social behaviour is becoming so common as to almost be acceptable in some quarters.
"Our streets, even our parks, are no longer safe. Never has it been clearer that our leaders need to get beyond pettiness and deal with the real scars in our society that are bringing shame on us all."
