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Belfast City Hall flag protests
The Union Flag flying atop Belfast City Hall in 2006
Date	3 December 2012 – present
Location	Northern Ireland
Caused by	Belfast City Council voting to limit the days that the Union Flag flies from City Hall
Methods	Street protests, riots
Status	Ongoing
Parties
Police Service of Northern Ireland Ulster loyalists Ulster Volunteer Force Ulster Defence Association
Lead figures
David Ford (Justice Minister) Gavin Robinson (Lord Mayor of Belfast)
Casualties and losses
Nearly 70 police officers injured At least 100 arrested

On 3 December 2012, Belfast City Council voted to limit the days that the Union Flag (the flag of the United Kingdom) flies from Belfast City Hall. Since 1906, the flag had been flown every day of the year. The vote means that it will now be flown no more than 18 days a year.

Background

Since the Easter Rising and the consequent independence of the Republic of Ireland, sectarian tensions have flared up on a fairly regular basis and peaked during The Troubles, which culminated in the Good Friday Agreement. However dissident groups within the Loyalist and Republican communities continued to be active at this time.

Furthermore, the bipartisan Independent Monitoring Commission finished its mandate without renewal with its last report being issued in 2011.

Reasons

The move to limit the number of days the Union Jack is flown over Belfast City Hall to 18 days was backed by the Council's Irish nationalist Councillors (from Sinn Féin and the SDLP) and by its Alliance Party Councillors. It was opposed by the unionist Councillors.

As a response, loyalists and unionists have held street protests throughout Northern Ireland. They have been held almost daily and most have involved the protesters blocking roads while carrying Union Flags and banners. Some of these protests have led to clashes between loyalists and the police, sparking riots. On the night of the vote, protesters tried to storm City Hall. Alliance Party offices, and the homes of Alliance Party members, have been attacked. Belfast City Councillors have also been sent death threats, and riot police have been shot at by loyalist militants. According to police, some of the violence has been orchestrated by high-ranking members of the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) and Ulster Defence Association (UDA). All the main political parties, including unionists, have berated the violence.

Protest timeline

December

On the evening of 3 December, hundreds of protesters gathered outside City Hall as the debate and vote was being held. Minutes after the vote, protesters broke into the back courtyard and tried to force open the doors of the building. Two security staff and a press photographer were injured, and windows of cars in the courtyard were smashed. Protesters then clashed with the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), injuring 15 officers. The Chief Superintendent said, "Clearly there was a level of orchestration - some people brought bolt cutters, others put on masks immediately after the vote came through".

On 4 December, Alliance Party councillor Laura McNamee was forced to move from her east Belfast home after receiving threats. On 5 December, up to 1,500 protesters gathered in Carrickfergus. The protest became violent and police responded by firing plastic bullets. The rioters ransacked an Alliance Party office and tried to set it on fire. The home of Michael and Christine Bower, Alliance councillors in Bangor, was attacked.

There were clashes between protesters and police in Belfast and Newtownabbey on 7 December; police responded with water cannon. Death threats were sent to Naomi Long, Alliance's MP for Belfast East in the House of Commons. She described it as a "wanton attack on the democratic process". Bullets were sent to her, David Ford, local councillor Geraldine Mulvenna, Gerry Kelly and Alex Maskey. The home and car of an Alliance councillor in Newtownards were attacked, with most of the windows being smashed. Speaking on a radio show that morning, Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) politician Basil McCrea went against his party's policy and said he agreed with the flag vote. Other party members demanded the party take action against him.

Up to 2,000 protesters gathered at Belfast City Hall on 8 December. The crowd was addressed by former British National Party (BNP) fundraiser Jim Dowson. Also present were Progressive Unionist Party (PUP) leader Billy Hutchinson and Ulster Defence Association (UDA) commander Jackie McDonald. Some of the protesters burnt an Irish tricolour. There were minor clashes with police after the rally.

On 10 December, a gang of men attacked a police car guarding Naomi Long's office in east Belfast. They smashed the window and threw in a petrol bomb while a policewoman was still inside, but she escaped unharmed. There was rioting in east and south Belfast. In Armagh, protesters attacked a pub owned by the husband of a Sinn Féin councillor. The windows were smashed and rocket fireworks thrown inside. Later, three men were hurt in a hit-and-run at a protest nearby.

There were two large demonstrations at City Hall on 15 December. In response to the violence, several hundred held a "peace vigil" in which they linked arms and encircled the building. Later, up to 1,000 loyalists with Union Flags blocked the roads in front of the building. About 80 protests were held in Northern Ireland on 17 December. Police were attacked in south Belfast, where loyalists blocked a road near the City Hospital with a burning barricade and tried to hijack vehicles. At a protest in Portadown, a man was hurt in a road accident. At Carrickfergus town hall, protesters disrupted a meeting of the council and threatened councillors. Alliance councillor Noel Williams called it "a full frontal attack on democracy".

January

Each night from 3-8 January, the protests led to clashes between loyalists and police in east Belfast. Rioters threw petrol bombs, fireworks, bricks, stones and bottles; police responded with plastic bullets and water cannon. Ten officers were injured on the first night. On 4 January, attempts were made to hijack cars and buses. In Newtownabbey, masked men broke into commercial premises and stole money. On 5 January, shots were fired at police during clashes in east Belfast. Loyalists claimed that trouble began when they came under attack from the Short Strand, an Irish nationalist enclave. The next night, loyalists protested near the Short Strand and then clashed with police nearby.

On 7 January, Belfast City Council met for the first time since the vote was passed. The PSNI closed roads around City Hall while loyalists protested outside. As protesters passed the Short Strand on their return to east Belfast, clashes again broke out between the protesters and nationalists. When police tried to disperse the crowds, they were attacked with petrol bombs, fireworks, bricks and bottles. Officers and their vehicles were also attacked with hatchets and sledge hammers. They responded with plastic bullets and water cannon.

The first meeting of the 'Unionist Forum' took place on 10 January. It was set up by the DUP and UUP to address the flag protests and other concerns within the unionist community.

On 11 January, protesters blocked roads in Belfast, Bangor, Newtownards, Dundonald, Clough and Clonduff. There was rioting in Newtownabbey and Carrickfergus. Petrol bombs, fireworks and stones were thrown at police, who responded with plastic bullets and water cannons; four PSNI officers were injured as a result of the rioting. In the Rathcoole area of Newtownabbey, an elderly man pleaded with protesters to let him through their roadblock so he could see his seriously ill wife in hospital. However, the protesters "jeered" at him and refused to let him through. A press photographer who was covering the riot in Newtownabbey was robbed at knifepoint. A bus was set alight in the same area and a car was hijacked in north Belfast. Translink withdrew all its bus services in Belfast, apart from Falls Road services and buses to Belfast International Airport. There were also protests in Glasgow and Liverpool.

Reactions

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (January 2013)

Many politicians commented on the protests. MP Naomi Long, representative for Belfast East in the House of Commons, said that Northern Ireland is facing a "an incredibly volatile and extremely serious situation". Prime Minister of the United Kingdom David Cameron condemned the protests, saying "violence is absolutely unjustified in those and in other circumstances."

United States Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton called for an end to the protests during a trip to Belfast on 7 December,

In early January 2013, Willie Frazer said that he and a group of loyalists plan to hold a protest outside the Irish parliament building, Leinster House, in Dublin. The group will "sarcastically" ask for the Irish flag to be taken down. Frazer said "it's a tongue-in-cheek gesture. It's to give Irish people a sense of how we feel. I would be very offended if I was living in Ireland and someone came and asked me to take the flag down. That’s exactly how we feel in Belfast. People keep telling us we're still part of the UK, yet here we are without a flag". In 2006, a unionist protest march in Dublin, organized by Frazer, had sparked severe rioting.

See also

Other major loyalist protests

• Ulster Workers' Council strike (1974)
• Ulster Says No (1980s)
• Holy Cross dispute (2001)

References

1. Taggart, Peter (6 January 2013). "Violent demonstrations injure dozens of police in Northern Ireland". CNN International. Retrieved 6 January 2013.
2. http://www.u.tv/News/33-petrol-bombs-thrown-in-flag-trouble/54f55be9-0ac7-40e8-b244-481861cec455
3. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-20985521
4. "Police attacked, use water cannons against protesters in Northern Ireland". The Washington Post. 5 January 2013. Retrieved 6 January 2013.
5. "Loyalist paramilitaries 'behind some Northern Ireland trouble'". BBC News, 8 December 2012
6. "Violence in Belfast after council votes to change Union flag policy". BBC News, 3 December 2012
7. "15 police officers injured during Belfast City Hall violence". BBC News, 4 December 2012
8. ^ "Timeline of attacks on Northern Ireland political parties". BBC News, 7 January 2013.
9. "Police injured and Alliance property attacked during NI trouble". BBC News, 6 December 2012
10. "Loyalist paramilitaries behind some Northern Ireland trouble". BBC News, 8 December 2012
11. McDonald, Henry (11 December 2012). "Northern Ireland violence to be debated by MPs". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 January 2013.
12. "Bullets sent to five politicians in North". Irish Examiner. 19 December 2012. Retrieved 11 January 2013.
13. "Ulster Unionist trio want Basil McCrea disciplined". BBC News, 7 December 2012
14. "Belfast flag protests: Loyalists clash with police after rally". BBC News, 8 December 2012
15. "Police car petrol-bombed near MP Naomi Long's office". BBC News, 11 December 2012
16. "Hundreds attend Belfast peace vigil". BBC News, 15 December 2012
17. "Trouble flares at flag protests in Belfast". BBC News, 18 December 2012
18. "Ten police officers hurt in trouble after Belfast union flag protest". BBC News, 4 January 2013
19. "Union flag protests: Nine police officers hurt in fresh flag trouble". BBC News, 5 January 2013
20. "Belfast flags trouble: Matt Baggott in warning to rioters". BBC News, 6 January 2013
21. "Belfast flags trouble: PSNI chief says senior UVF members are involved". BBC News, 7 January 2013
22. "Belfast flags trouble: Plastic bullets fired at protesters". BBC News, 8 January 2013
23. http://www.u.tv/News/UVF-members-behind-flag-trouble/88468242-4c5a-4e07-a3c4-3dba8ad46ed4
24. http://www.u.tv/News/Eight-charged-over-city-violence/d8e2f483-e8aa-476e-b80a-1f3dbf8ca196
25. "Union flag protests: Police attacked and traffic disrupted". BBC News, 12 January 2013.
26. "33 petrol bombs thrown in flag trouble". UTV News, 11 January 2013.
27. "Naomi Long: 'Death threat' against Alliance party MP". BBC News. 7 December 2012. Retrieved 10 January 2013.
28. Johnston, Ian. "Flag fury ignites some of Northern Ireland's worst violence in 15 years". NBC News. Retrieved 10 January 2013.
29. "PM condemns loyalist city rioters". Belfast Telegraph. 12 December 2012. Retrieved 10 January 2013.
30. Morris, Harvey (8 January 2013). "Flag Protest Reignites Northern Ireland Strife". The New York Times. Retrieved 10 January 2013.
31. Bradley, Una (5 January 2013). "Loyalists to request lowering of Tricolour". The Irish Times. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
32. McDonald, Henry (4 January 2013). "Ulster loyalists plan Dublin demonstration over union flag". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 January 2013.

• 2012 in Northern Ireland
• 2013 in Northern Ireland
• 2012 protests
• 2013 protests
• 2012 riots
• 2013 riots
• History of Belfast
• Riots and civil disorder in Northern Ireland
• Protests in Northern Ireland