By Kieran McDaid


THE loyalist residents of Glenbryn have vowed to continue their protest at Holy Cross Girls Primary School in Ardoyne.

The Upper Ardoyne Concerned Residents Association blamed the RUC’s handling of the stand-off for yesterday’s escalation in violence, which saw a blast bomb thrown at the school children.

A statement issued by the group last night insisted the RUC had “beaten and brutalised” residents.

“Despite our efforts to resolve our problems through dialogue, the chief constable’s insistence that he would force a way through to the school disempowered our community,” it said.

“This encouraged the representatives of the nationalist community not to engage in dialogue.

“Since Monday morning, the actions of police officers has severely damaged their relationship with this community. Children, women and senior citizens have been beaten and brutalised. Some people have had guns put to their heads and houses have been wrecked. We were promised a new way of policing for the future. It has arrived in Upper Ardoyne all too painfully,” it added.

The alleged victims of police brutality spoke to the assembled media.

Christine Patton claimed she had received a badly bruised arm after being thrown to the ground and beaten by police.

She said she was walking back along the Ardoyne Road after leaving her disabled child to a bus to be taken to his special school when a blast bomb was thrown at the school children yesterday morning.

“I was just walking along when the blast bomb went off, then I was thrown to the ground and hit with a baton by a police officer before being pulled up and thrown into a garden,” she said.

“I had to walk through police lines to get my child to school, he has a right to education too.”

Joanne Bill said her 14-year-old son Kyle had been beaten by police as he sat eating his breakfast in his grandmother’s home.
She called on the security forces to close the Ardoyne Road.

“They need to close the road and give everyone a chance to cool off, the rioting that goes on every night has to stop as well,” she said.

“We need the parents from Ardoyne to take their children to school by the other route to give us breathing space, but I can’t see them doing that.”

The group’s legal advisor Billy Mitchell, when asked what the protest hoped to achieve, said the people of Glenbryn had had enough of being attacked by republican gangs.

“The Glenbryn community is convinced they are being unfairly treated by the police and media,” he said.

“Over the last four years, gangs of republicans have come into this area and attacked people.

“The people in this area are being forced out of Upper Ardoyne and in this protest, they are taking a stand and saying they will not be pushed out of here.

“This is a peaceful protest. The people who are protesting are not picking up bombs or guns. It is also very clear to the residents of Glenbryn that the campaign against them is being orchestrated by Sinn Fein.”

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