CCTV cameras for peaceline

The British government today confirmed it will install close circuit television cameras along the peaceline in east Belfast in a bid to stop sectarian rioting.

Northern Ireland Office Security Minister Jane Kennedy said officials were considering where exactly to locate additional cameras in the Short Strand flashpoint which has seen some of the worst violence this summer.

She also said the new system would be rolled out within weeks.

"The installation of CCTV cameras will both enhance community safety and bring some reassurance to the beleaguered communities across east Belfast," she said.

"I have been extremely encouraged by the success of the PSNI’s (Police Service of Northern Ireland) use of CCTV technology in north Belfast.

"It has allowed police to deploy resources in a speedy and informed manner to quell trouble before it takes hold.

"CCTV in itself is not the whole solution but I do believe it will be an effective tool in countering sectarian violence at community interfaces and bringing those responsible to justice."

The Short Strand has witnessed some of the worst rioting in recent months in Belfast, with petrol bombs, pipe bombs, stones, bottles and other missiles hurled from either side of the peace line into the nationalist Clandeboye Gardens and loyalist Cluan Place.

Several people on either side of the divide have been wounded in the disturbances over the summer and many houses were damaged or abandoned.

Unionists and nationalists have accused paramilitaries on either side of the divide of orchestrating the violence.

Assistant Chief Constable for Belfast, Alan McQuillan identified the loyalist Ulster Volunteer Force and the Provisional IRA as fuelling much of the violence but later told the province’s Policing Board that loyalists had initiated much of the trouble.

The decision to erect CCTV cameras has been welcomed by unionists who have been pressing for their introduction.

Northern Ireland First Minister David Trimble and his UUP ministerial colleague Sir Reg Empey have been pressing for the cameras to be installed in east Belfast.

The British government’s announcement will be seen as boosting the UUP leader as he prepares for a challenge from hardliners to his policy of power sharing with Sinn Fein at a crucial meeting of the party’s ruling council on September 21.

It also follows hard on reports that the British government will announce a mechanism for monitoring paramilitary activity in Northern Ireland - a key demand of unionists.

East Belfast MLA Sir Reg today welcomed the announcement.

"The installation of CCTV cameras in East Belfast is something I have been calling the Government to act upon for some time and it is a measure which I believe will bring some stability to the area.

“I also call on republicans to welcome this move - they should have nothing to be scared of with respect to CCTV."

The Democratic Unionist MP for East Belfast Peter Robinson also welcomed the move, which he had also pressed for, claiming it would contradict nationalist claims that they were the victims of attacks.

Republicans were not happy with the move.

Sinn Fein councillor Fra McCann argued existing CCTV cameras in the area had not prevented loyalist attacks on nationalist homes.

He also claimed nationalist residents had no faith in the police officers operating them.

Following her announcement, the Security Minister said a security response alone would not provide "a long-term solution to the problems we face in Northern Ireland. That solution must come from within the communities themselves through dialogue, mutual understanding and accommodation".