First Minister condemns Ballymena rioting as ‘pure racism – there's no other way to dress it up'

Belfast Telegraph

11-06-2025

The disorder followed an allegation of a sex attack on a teenage girl in Ballymena at the weekend.
Two 14 year old boys, who spoke to a court through a Romanian interpreter, were arrested and have since been charged in relation to the allegations.
First Minister Michelle O'Neill said that it's important to remember that violence against women in Northern Ireland and the recent violence in Ballymena are separate issues.
'We know there's a general societal problem here in terms of violence against women and girls.
'And it's male violence against women and girls. So we have to call it out and we have to work with our young boys about educating them as well, which is why a lot of the work we've done around campaigns like Power to Change, don't be a bystander whenever you see misogyny or you see attacks on young women.
'What I want is to separate out two things here.
'One is an attack on a young woman that needs to be investigated and fully dealt with in the criminal justice system.
'Separate to that is an issue of racism that we have now developed. And I would say, orchestrated by some of those people like Tommy Robinson to this point, orchestrating and trying to whip up fears and tensions, let's not allow that to take hold in our society,' she said.
Ms O'Neill condemned the violent demonstrations as "pure racism – there's no other way to dress it up'.
"We can't dress this up, this is racism in Ballymena, and we have to say that this is not tolerated in this society".
"It's wrong – we have to say that it's wrong and all political leaders need to join together in calling for calm."
Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly said the violence in Ballymena is "serving no purpose whatsoever, but risks criminal convictions of young people".
Ms Pengelly added that the family of the victim of the alleged sexual assault in Ballymena had been "very clear" that they did not want violence to follow a peaceful demonstration held on Monday night to support them.
"At the heart of this initial protest was a victim, a young girl,' she said.
"But then of course that [demonstration] turned into something very, very different. The family have been clear, they don't want that violence."
Ms O'Neill said the Executive was united in its condemnation of the attacks.
News Catch Up - Wednesday 11th June 2025
'I think it is important that political leaders are very clear in terms of the language that they use and the words that they use so that they don't inflate issues.
'The racism that we see being carried out over the last few nights in Ballymena is wrong, we have to say that it is wrong.
'That's why it was important that all of the Executive parties have come together to say that what's happening needs to stop. We will continue to provide that political leadership, work with communities, we want to engage with the PSNI, and continue to work with them in terms of the response.'