Political opinion: Workers Party representative calls on political leaders and parties to condemn those far right groups spreading lies and misinformation about immigrants and refugees
Workers Party representative Tony Dorrian joined with other Workers Party activists at the counter protest which took place at the Ten Square Hotel in Belfast City centre by anti-immigration protesters.
Mr Dorrian said: "We attend many of these anti-racist gatherings and continue to do so, these groups do not represent the people of Northern Ireland their only aim is to spread hatred against the ethnic minorities who have chosen to live and work here.
"Those who seek to sanitise their despicable actions by saying they have legitimate concerns for behaving in this way, must change the narrative and call them right wing racist bullies."
He continued: "Those who were protesting carried placards claiming that they want to protect women and girls, stop illegal immigration and to stop people trafficking. They seem happy to ignore the fact that half of those arrested at the Ballymena racist hate fest, had been reported for domestic violence.
"They must also have forgotten that those who were charged with people trafficking and the deaths of those abandoned in a lorry in England were men from Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
"The protests these people hold are not spontaneous they are planned and coordinated, and all carry the same messages of lies, hatred and deliberate misinformation. There can be no justification or excuses for this kind of behaviour, it must be called out by everyone in a leadership role, in political, civic, community organisations , including the trade union movement."
Mr Dorrian added: "The police are also required to take decisive action against these racist hate mongers. On Saturday we witnessed a 66 years-old being manhandled and arrested for wearing a Palestinian Action T-shirt.
"The Workers Party condemns this action by the police and do not understand why they clearly ignore other Northern Ireland proscribed organisations' symbols that are carried at protests and are flying in public spaces.
"There must be a zero tolerance response to these hate crimes. We must tell these racist and far right groups it is they who are not welcome in our towns and cities.
"Migrants and refugees are welcome in Northern Ireland; bigotry, hatred, and discrimination is not. It is time to stop scapegoating ethnic minorities in our communities, it is time to recognise the valuable contributions they make to our society. It is time to stop organised hate crimes, we must all play our role in doing so."x