North Belfast knife attack raised in Assembly: Unionists raise issue of immigration as SDLP warn of 'dark forces' at work and Alliance caution against 'anger'
The knife attack in north Belfast has been raised in the Assembly.
Unionist politicians raised concerns about immigration off the back of the incident.
Jonathan Buckley of the DUP said that too often those who broached the issue have been “patronised or simply ignored”, while TUV man Timothy Gaston said “those who attempt to shut down discussion of those issues are not liberal”.
Meanwhile SDLP opposition leader Matthew O’Toole warned that “dark actors” are trying to “take advantage” of the situation.
One Alliance MLA, Kate Nicholl, rebuked DUP and TUV MLAs for their contributions, and said “let's have a conversation about a migration another day,” adding that it is “very dangerous to talk about anger”.
She went on to add: “Today it's about us coming together.”
A number of politicians urged the public not to watch the video of the incident, having watched it themselves.
The attack on a victim in his 40s took place just off the Antrim Road in inner north Belfast at about 10.30pm.
Footage shows a dark-skinned man straddling the victim in the road and cutting at him with a knife, before bystanders rush in to help and the police arrive.
The PSNI say the suspect is Sudanese and in his 30s.
It has released no further details, and says officers are trying to establish a motive.
The victim remains in a serious condition in hospital.
Opening today’s debate, UUP leader Jon Burrows said: “It is imperative on all of us in political leadership to show calm leadership to our communities.
"I say to anybody across Northern Ireland today that the way to respond to such issues is never to break the law and never to incite hatred.”
He also said: “I encourage the police to be proactive, to give as much information as they can to the public and not to allow a vacuum that can be filled with disinformation.”
DUP MLA Brian Kingston said police had told him “that both the victim and the perpetrator live in the area”, adding: “We are concerned that people may try to cause other people who are not connected with the incident to suffer consequences, and we make the appeal that that should not happen.”
TUV MLA Timothy Gaston rose to say that it was only 24 hours earlier that he had been “ridiculed” by MLAs including the justice minister Naomi Long for “daring to highlight issues around immigration and the impact that it has on working-class communities”.
He said: “Those who attempt to shut down discussion of those issues are not liberal.
"They are not standing up for the marginalised and oppressed in our communities to defend the policies that led to last night's attack.
"Advocating them is, positively, a danger to our communities in Northern Ireland.”
In a very brief statement, Sinn Fein first minister Michelle O’Neill spoke of there being “no place for violence of any kind in our communities, and my thoughts are very much with the victim and his family at this time”, adding: “The perpetrator of that heinous crime must face the full weight of the law.”
In comments that were echoed by others, Mr O’Toole said: “I have, unfortunately, seen the video that was widely shared, as, I am sure, many in the chamber have.
"I hope that no one else sees the video, and I urge people not to watch it or share it – not just because it is depraved and shocking but because we do not want people to have to see that, and we do not want to compromise the dignity of the victim any further while, as we hope, they recover in hospital.”
He also went on to urge people to “choose our words carefully”.
"We cannot ignore the fact that there are dark actors who will want and are already trying to take advantage of the situation to create more tension and more fear,” he said.
Mr Buckley of the DUP demanded: “I want to know his [the suspect’s] immigration status.
"I want to know who came with him into this great country.
"I want to know whether he has a criminal history; no ifs or buts.
"For years, ordinary people have been raising concerns about safety on our streets and the direction in their communities that is changing beyond belief.
"Too often, those concerns have been dismissed.
"Those people have been patronised or simply ignored by sections of the political leadership.”
Ms Nicholl said she had not intended to speak, but was moved to in response to Mr Buckley and Mr Gaston.
She told MLAs: “I have very different views on so many of these things to other people, because I've worked with people who've come from other countries, and I know small children are not a threat.
"They've just come here to make a new life.
"I don't want to get into that discussion now.
"Let's have a conversation about a migration another day, a grown-up, respectful conversation about how we manage it, how we ensure supports, how we ensure that there is integration, how we manage our services.
"But today it is about something awful that happened in our society, something that should never have happened, and everyone is reeling from it.”
She went on to add: “I acknowledge that there are very real concerns and that they are not far right.
"What happened last night was terrifying.
"The leadership for us now is to come together and see how we come through this peacefully, and to not agitate, and to not stir this up.
"It is very dangerous to talk about anger.
"It is very… [Mr Gaston moves to speak] but it's not for today, Timothy.
"Let's have this conversation another day.
"Today it's about us coming together.”