Attacks are still continuing on Catholic schoolchildren as young as four and their parents making their way to classes at the Holy Cross Girls’ Primary School in north Belfast. Loyalist protestors today threw a pipe bomb at the young girls, along with stones, spitting and verbal abuse already witnessed yesterday. Tension remains high as parts of the Protestant community demand that the back gates of the school be used instead by the Catholics, to prevent them from entering what they deem to be their streets. Jim Potts, acting as spokesperson for local residents, has stated that the Catholic children should be re-located to another school out of their area and that the school be used solely for Protestant children. Eoin O’Bróin, local Sinn Féin counsellor, believes this reinforces the belief that ethnic cleansing is taking place, stating: “They’re only picking on these children because they’re Catholic.”

This is a re-run of events prior to the summer break when similar scenes were witnessed. Following 6 weeks of negotiations in a bid to find a solution, loyalists were accused of pulling out of the talks, with the results plain to see on Monday as the school term resumed. Eoin O’Bróin believes this only signalled the loyalists lack of will to finding a solution: “Our own view is that these issues [causing the violence] can be resolved. However, if they’re attacking children it doesn’t sound like they’re interested in resolving it.” Police and army continue to maintain a heavy presence, dressed in riot gear and forced to act as security shields to the clearly petrified children whose only intention is to go to school.

This loyalist protest is seen by many to be in the context of ongoing violence aimed at the Catholic population, which has witnessed more than 200 pipe bomb attacks since the New Year, and tragically ended in the deaths of 3 people, 2 Catholics and 1 Protestant. Gavin Brett was murdered whilst standing next to his best friend, a Catholic, believed to have been the target. The death was claimed by the Red Hand Defenders, widely believed to be a cover name for the UDA and thought to be behind the many pipe bomb attacks on Catholic homes.

Whilst local Protestant residents and church leaders have come out in condemnation of the violence, a group which claims to represent the local Protestant community, is seen as being a political umbrella for some groups opposed to the Good Friday Agreement and thus a peaceful solution to the violence in north Belfast. Members of the group, calling itself the Concerned Residents of Upper Ardoyne, are believed to be made up of anti-agreement groups including the Democratic Unionist Party and the Ulster Defence Association. Catholic community leaders believe the violence is aimed at provoking a response from nationalists and republicans and therefore ultimately the IRA.

Whatever the arguments on the part of the loyalist community, the use of schoolchildren to launch their anger on is clearly not helping their cause and the scenes clearly show just how bitter the hatred is.