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Consul condemns 'scandalous' attacks on Belfast Poles

PR dla Zagranicy
Nick Hodge 07.05.2014 10:18
The Honorary Polish Consul in Northern Ireland has condemned a spate of attacks on Poles and other foreign nationals in Belfast.

Belfast
Belfast City Hall. Photo: wikipedia

Consul Jerome Mullen attended a meeting at Belfast City Hall on Tuesday with local councillors, policemen and community leaders, after three Polish homes were vandalised in East Belfast over the weekend.

Police have blamed the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), a Protestant paramilitary group of loyalists.

“We need our politicians to come out clearly and condemn what is going on in these attacks and we need the community in east Belfast and north Belfast, and anywhere else where these things are going on, to work hard and try to identify where the problems are,” Mullen said, as cited by the BBC.

“It cannot be left to the police alone to solve this problem. This is a community issue. It is outrageous and scandalous that this is going on in our community,” he added.

Hate crimes against Poles have been occurring sporadically in the region for some time but police acknowledge that the level has risen dramatically this year.

Africans and Romanians have also been victimised in recent months, and a special police unit has been set up to tackle the problem under the name of Operation Orion.

Ethnic tension in Northern Ireland increased last week amid the three-day detention of Sinn Fein leader Jerry Adams, who was questioned over the 1972 murder of Jean McConville, a killing he repeated that he was "innocent of any part" (nh/pg)

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