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Springfield siege
Francesca Ryan
Nationalist residents of west Belfast’s Springfield Road claim they were subjected to two hours of loyalist intimidation and threats on Saturday as PSNI officers stood by.
The claims came after Orangemen and bandsmen held a protest on the Springfield Road in protest at the Parades Commission’s decision not to permit an Orange Order parade to process via Workman Avenue onto the Springfield Road.
Throughout last week, loyalists blocked roads in north and west Belfast in protest at the decision. The real trouble began on Saturday afternoon when a mob of Orangemen and bandsmen gathered at the junction of the Springfield Road and Watermouth Crescent.
A 500-strong mob made its way up the Springfield Road and stopped for almost two hours outside the nationalist cul-de-sac of Watermouth Crescent. The mob verbally abused residents and threatened to return later that night to burn them out of their homes. Only six PSNI officers were present. Most officers were stationed further down the road at Workman Avenue, where loyalists threw blast bombs and missiles across closed gates at residents.
One resident, who did not wish to be named, told Daily Ireland: “There were only two Land Rovers at the end of the street and only six cops to supposedly protect us from this mob. The few cops that were there were leaning against the wall watching us being abused.
“I have never experienced anything like that in my life.
“It was absolutely terrifying and we had nowhere to go.
“This is a cul-de-sac so we were just hemmed in and subjected to abuse, threats and intimidation.”
Contrary to the Parades Commission’s determination that the bandsmen could walk the few hundred metres to the sole beat of a drum during that part of the parade, the resident said the mob had staged a sit-down protest and played loyalist tunes for two hours while Orangemen hurled abuse. “They were calling us Fenian Bs and told us they would be back to burn us out later that night. The music was deafening and there were loyalist paramilitary flags being waved, which was also a breach of conduct.
“At one point, they had the pikes they carry in a position as though they were going to charge us.
“It was then the policemen moved in between us but, rather than push the Orangemen back onto the street, they pushed the residents further into the cul-de-sac. We had no protection whatsoever,” said the resident.
Another woman confronted three bandsmen in her garden as they urinated on her plants.
“My son was standing at our gate when one of these people told him they were going to ram him with a pike. My son looked around to see who the man was speaking to, then he said: ‘I’m speaking to you, you Fenian.’
“It was absolute mayhem. Three of them were going to the toilet in my garden. I told them to get out or I’d set the dogs on them. They didn’t say anything but just climbed over the fence and back onto the road.”
Seán Paul O’Hare, spokesman for the Springfield Residents Action Group, said the Orangemen and loyalists had tried their best to provoke residents into a violent response.
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