Attack on Islamic Centre in Belfast abhorrent and despicable – Naomi Long
By Gráinne Ní Aodha, PA
An attack on the Islamic Centre in Belfast was “abhorrent” and “absolutely despicable”, Justice Minister Naomi Long has said.
A viable device was thrown through a window of the centre during evening prayer on Friday.
A 34-year-old man was arrested and police are investigating whether the incident was a hate crime.
The Alliance Party leader said it was “despicable” that people were afraid to go to their place of worship.
“I think it was an abhorrent attack on people who were at worship, and I think that for any of us, we would accept that that is just not acceptable,” she told the BBC’s Sunday Politics programme.
“This is not who we want to be as society. It’s not what we want to be known for around the world.
“I think it is despicable that people are afraid to go to their place of worship, afraid to go to live in their own homes or go to their school or go to their workplace because of fear of attack because of the colour of their skin or their religion.
“That just isn’t acceptable, and that needs to be condemned unequivocally by everyone in society.”
Mrs Long was also asked about policing resources in the wake of riots across Northern Ireland, which have been criticised as “racist thuggery” by police.
After disorder broke out in Ballymena for several nights after an alleged sexual assault of a girl, disturbances spread to other areas of Northern Ireland including Portadown, Larne, Belfast, Carrickfergus, Londonderry and Coleraine.
The Executive pledged an extra £5 million for the PSNI to respond.
Mrs Long said that most of that funding had already been spent as the disorder had been a “drain” on resources.
“They need £7 million to be able to do the first year of recruitment for the PSNI to rebuild. That money could have gone towards that.
“It’s hugely frustrating at a time when our justice system is so stretched that we have people not just putting pressure on the resources of the PSNI, but destroying their own communities at a cost to everyone in our society, because that will all have to be repaired and rebuilt.”
She said £200 million in funding over five years requested by PSNI chief constable Jon Boutcher was a “potential game changer” which would “allow us to rebuild police numbers”.