Penny Wong calls for ‘stand against violence’ as Belfast rocked by riots
Penny Wong has called on leaders to “stand against violence” as anti-immigration protests sweep Northern Ireland.
As the protests in Belfast, the capital of the restive British country, entered their third day, it was reported that masked men set fire to houses, cars and a bus throughout the night.
The unrest was triggered by an alleged stabbing attack by a 30-year-old Sudanese man on June 8 and comes at a time when anti-immigration sentiment and support for the right-wing Reform party are growing.
During bilateral talks with European leaders in the UK, the Foreign Secretary was asked what should be done to prevent the scenes that emerged from Belfast from being repeated in Australia.
“First of all, I would like to point out that all leaders must stand against violence,” he said.
“Whatever our differences of opinion, whatever our policy debates, whatever our debate about what should or shouldn’t happen, violence is never acceptable.
“Political leaders of all parties need to put forward this view at all times. So let’s start with that.”
On Wednesday, Labor Senator Raff Ciccone described the scenes in Belfast as “horrific”.
“Especially when we woke up this morning and saw this on our television screens,” he told Sky News.
Senator Ciccone said he felt sorry for the victim and his family and that police would investigate the alleged “horrific and chilling” attack.
“But frankly, you know, we’ve had a debate in this country around the need for tranquility and national unity, especially now and as events around the world have been happening around social cohesion for months and years,” he said.
“This is very important and has been the focus of discussions that the government has been having for some time.
“We need to address the root reasons why people decide it is okay to carry out these horrific attacks against one of their own, against other citizens, and against other people in our society.
“This is not a problem unique to Australia or Northern Ireland. It’s unfortunate that we’re seeing so many more of these cases around the world.”
