Loyalist leaders must immediately cancel a series of protests planned for Northern Ireland this weekend, according to the Sinn Fein president.

The demonstrations have been arranged in a number of towns and cities to mark the 23rd anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement.

It follows nearly a week of violent protests in Belfast and elsewhere, which police have described as the ‘worst rioting in recent years.’

On Newstalk Breakfast this morning, Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald said the violence has been “orchestrated and planned” and said it is now “absolutely essential” that unionist leaders call a halt to it.

“The violence has been orchestrated,” she said. “It began as unrest in loyalist and unionist neighbourhoods and then, over the last two nights, it has been very deliberately focused down at what are called interface or peace lines in Belfast in particular.

“These are the points of most sensitivity and most vulnerability. Things got particularly out of hand on Wednesday night; last night was ugly as well and all of these scenes are to be condemned and let me do that at the outset.”

File photo: Mary Lou McDonald, Photo: RollingNews.ie

She said it is now essential that, “those who are orchestrating this violence within loyalism have to be called out.”

“They are planning protests for the weekend,” she said. “Those protests should not go ahead and that call needs to be very clearly articulated that those are cancelled – and it needs to come from unionism.”

Asked what she meant when she said ‘unionist leadership’, Deputy McDonald said: “I am talking about all of it.”

“Obviously, [DUP leader] Arlene Foster not so long ago met with the Loyalist Community Council, which is like an umbrella group for all sorts of organisations that, frankly, at this stage, should be disbanded but how and ever, there obviously is a line of communication and a conversation ongoing there,” she said.

“It is absolutely essential that all who represent and who lead loyalism and unionism call a halt now to what is orchestrated and planned violence.”

Border poll

The Sinn Féin leader said the recent violence should not derail calls for an ongoing debate on a border poll or united Ireland.

“I think you need to remember that what you are seeing played on the streets is inspired and driven by a minority of people within the wider community,” she said.

“There are those in the North who describe themselves as unionist, as loyalist as nationalist as other – it is a big mixed pot; there isn’t one predominant and dominating view or culture.

“By the way, everybody needs to be taken account of. Everybody’s view has to be weighed and measured and, now in these times, we need to do everything we can to stop the disorder and violence on the streets.

“We can do that but we also have to talk about the future and nobody can have a veto on that or bully us off that ground. That would be entirely wrong and absolutely counter-productive.”

Change

She said Sinn Féin’s border poll campaign is about preparing for change – noting that, “the worst thing that can happen to us is that we would walk ourselves into disorderly, constitutional change.”

“What I want is orderly, planned, democratic, constitutional transition and change,” she said. “And we can achieve that.

“You are not going to convince unionism not to be unionists. They will argue for the union – that is their political stance and that is fine, that is 100%, but that cannot be used as an excuse not to plan at a time when change is all around us and change is coming.”

You can listen back here: