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Policemen Injured by Home-Made Bomb Near Belfast School
BELFAST, Sept 5 (News Agencies) - A home-made bomb exploded in Belfast on Wednesday, injuring four policemen and forcing terrified schoolgirls nearby to take cover on the third day of violent sectarian protests against Catholic children walking to class through a Protestant area.
Three men were arrested in connection with the incident as Northern Ireland Secretary John Reid decided to cut short his summer holiday in order to deal with the deteriorating security situation in the province.
The Red Hand Defenders, a cover name that has been used by loyalist paramilitary groups, claimed responsibility for the blast in a telephone call, a Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) spokeswoman said.
"Any legitimate grievances of protesters have been drowned out by this violent sectarian bigotry," Reid said in a press statement.
"Children should not have to pay the price of the failure of adults to live together in peace," added Reid, who will return to the Belfast tomorrow.
"What we have seen develop in the past few days is the path to barbarism. I cannot believe the people of north Belfast want that. I believe most of them want their elected representatives and community leaders to talk together, and talk now," he said.
The home-made explosive device was thrown at police at around at 9 a.m. (3 a.m. EST) as they clashed with Protestant protestors on Glenbryn Parade, near where security forces escorted children and parents to Holy Cross Primary School on the Protestant Ardoyne Road.
Meanwhile, Northern Ireland Office security minister Jane Kennedy met unionist and nationalist representatives at the province's assembly to discuss ways to end the unrest.
The current troubles come at a delicate stage in Northern Ireland's fragile peace process, as the province's main parties decide whether to endorse police reforms proposed by the British government, a key issue in the peace process.
The primarily Catholic republicans and nationalists want to unite Northern Ireland with the Irish Republic, while mostly Protestant loyalists and unionists support continued rule by Britain over the province.
During the past three days, residents from the loyalist Glenbryn estate have set out to stop the children, aged between four and 11, from using Ardoyne Road to get to school, in order to protest alleged attacks on their homes.
Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern said he had contacted his British counterpart, Tony Blair, about the situation in the Ardoyne earlier in the week.
"The scenes from North Belfast are a vivid reminder to all of us what can happen in a society where tolerance and understanding are lacking or absent.
"It is really tragic when children, some of whom are attending school for the first time in their lives, have become the innocent victims and the center of such appalling scenes.
"That is very wrong. It is very wrong that young people should be used as pawns in a game because other people differ or have different views."
Ahern, who was speaking to a children's Dail (parliament) in Dublin's Mansion House where Ireland's first Dail sat in 1919, said every child had a right to go to school in peace and safety, with freedom from abuse and sectarian hatred.
He called for an early resolution of the "appalling and shameful situation."
"If there are grievances, this is not the way to solve them. There must be urgent talks and dialogue. The voices of people of moderation must be heard," he said.
Northern Ireland Assembly members are to debate the school dispute when they return for their first plenary session since the summer break on Monday.
The motion by Sinn Fein Assembly member Gerry Kelly will call on ministers to support "the right to education of schoolchildren attending Holy Cross Primary School in north Belfast."
Two of the injured officers were taken to hospitals with shrapnel injuries after the blast, and another two sustained minor injuries, the RUC spokeswoman said.
The RUC said that 45 officers and two soldiers had been injured in incidents since early Tuesday. Some 250 petrol bombs and 15 blast bombs have been thrown and four cars set on fire.
On day three of the protests, up to 100 children and parents were escorted to the school by police.
At first, loyalist protestors - which are fewer in number, turned their backs on the children and began a slow hand clapping.
But, as the schoolchildren approached the Glenbryn area, youths rushed forward to stone police and the bomb was thrown.
Several of the terrified children began to cry and one woman fainted, but they were quickly hurried along a security corridor towards the school and none of the children were injured.
As children left school in the middle of the afternoon to be escorted back down Ardoyne Road by parents and police, they were subjected to a few jeers from loyalist youths, but there were no major confrontations.
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