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The IRSP condemn outright the tactics employed by the RUC/PSNI against
the working class, Catholic residents of the Westland Road and
surrounding areas last night, who were responding to the threat of
loyalist violence that was brought to their homes.
Shortly after 2am, the residents of the Catholic Westland Gardens were met with the sectarian hatred of the loyalist supporters of the UDA 'K' Coy faction that controls the loyalist Westland estate. This area, although witnessing some of the most serious violence in North Belfast has remained relatively calm in the last year. IRSP member Cathal O'Cleirigh claims that the use of CS gas by the PSNI was unwarranted and completely unjustifiable. "It has emerged that in the early hours of this morning a Catholic family who were returning home from a night out with friends, stumbled across two loyalists from the lower Westland estate, who were tampering with a car belonging to their friend across the street from them. "When confronted, the two loyalist supporters of the infamous UDA 'K' Coy claimed that they were from Ardoyne and were there to take the car away. The two made fast their getaway and upon further inspection it was discovered that the car had had its tyres slashed." Mr. O'Cleirigh went on to add, "Things remained quiet for a short while, but was later flared by the involvement of large crowds from the loyalist estate. The residents kept vigil from the safety of their own street. After a while the PSNI responded to the incident that had since died down and after calm had been restored. "The response from the PSNI was totally unwarranted and unjustifiable. They toppled around the corner of Westland Gardens where some female residents were standing and proceeded to alight from the landrover. "Residents from the street claimed that they produced CS gas canisters and began shouting at them. They were calling the residents 'bastards' repeatedly. At this they began to fire the CS gas at the female residents. "This only goes to prove that we, the working classes of this island have no acceptable police force. There is no change to the tactics used by the unionist controlled RUC of the past and that which we have witnessed here by the PSNI in Westland Gardens. The only thing to have changed is the name." STATEMENTS ENDS |