March 22, 2004 Loyalist Link to Racist Leaflets


Senior security sources say they believe loyalist paramilitaries were behind racist leaflets circulated in south Belfast earlier this week. The Ulster Volunteer Force has been blamed for the leaflets which urge people to expel members of the Chinese community.

One of the leaflets, which have been circulated in the Donegall Pass area, was found in a child's school bag on Monday.

The leaflet claims that the number of Chinese people living and working in the area "undermines the community's Britishness".

Police investigating the leaflets seized a computer and other items during searches in the area on Wednesday.

The Progressive Unionist Party has close links to the UVF.

Party leader David Ervine said the UVF's involvement could have a huge impact on his party's relationship with the paramilitary group.

Speaking on Friday, Mr Ervine he was certain UVF people were involved in the leaflet, but it is not clear if they had approval from local leadership.

"We can't stand on the same ground as those who are avowed racists," he said.

Padraigeen Drinan, a solicitor for the Chinese Welfare Association, said many of her clients are business owners who have improved the economy of the area.

She said the leaflets were unacceptable.

DUP leader Ian Paisley said the threat was "vicious and diabolical".

South Belfast assembly member Alasdair McDonnell condemned what he called "this latest outrage".

Rev Ian Hart, a Presbyterian minister in the Donegall Pass area, condemned the leaflet but called for a level of understanding for residents.

"It is naturally perplexing to us because we are social, gregarious creatures who like to be among our own kind," he said.

"It is perplexing if you begin to feel that perhaps you are going to be a minority in your own street.

"We should understand and have a certain amount of compassion for ordinary, decent people without a sectarian, racist bone in their bodies."

Former Culture Minister Michael McGimpsey said the people who distributed the leaflets were intolerant.

The Alliance Party's south Belfast representative, Geraldine Rice, also condemned it.

On Monday, the Policing Board told the Chief Constable Hugh Orde that rising levels of racial and homophobic attacks in the province must be closely monitored.

Attacks on Asians and Africans in parts of Belfast rose by 30% in the past year, resulting in many families fleeing their homes.

Such incidents are to be tackled as part of a £774m strategy for running the Police Service of Northern Ireland over the next 12 months.

© BBC MMIV