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09/04/2003
Trouble erupts at Belfast anti-war rally
Trouble erupted during an anti-war rally in Belfast yesterday.
The trouble occurred when anti-war protesters blocked traffic in front of the City Hall following the Stop the War Coalition sponsored protest.
Police were eventually called in to disperse the crowd, however organisers of the protest criticised the PSNI for their tactics.
Alisa Keane of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU), which is co-ordinating the Stop the War Coalition, said that while the organisers have a good working relationship with the PSNI "we feel the use of riot gear at such an early stage only raised the tension of the stand off and the resolve of the street protesters prolonging the road blockage.
"Once police withdrew a few hundred meters, as requested by Stop the War Coalition, the street protesters dispersed peacefully," she added.
As part of the rally organisers had hundreds of protesters engage in street theatre by participating in a 'die in' on the footpath and recognising one minute of silence as a mark of respect to all the victims of the current Iraq war.
(MB)
The trouble occurred when anti-war protesters blocked traffic in front of the City Hall following the Stop the War Coalition sponsored protest.
Police were eventually called in to disperse the crowd, however organisers of the protest criticised the PSNI for their tactics.
Alisa Keane of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU), which is co-ordinating the Stop the War Coalition, said that while the organisers have a good working relationship with the PSNI "we feel the use of riot gear at such an early stage only raised the tension of the stand off and the resolve of the street protesters prolonging the road blockage.
"Once police withdrew a few hundred meters, as requested by Stop the War Coalition, the street protesters dispersed peacefully," she added.
As part of the rally organisers had hundreds of protesters engage in street theatre by participating in a 'die in' on the footpath and recognising one minute of silence as a mark of respect to all the victims of the current Iraq war.
(MB)
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