Belfast, City Hall - is this ok?

Sinn Fein, The SDLP and the Alliance Party, in the form of Belfast City Council CAUSED these protests, by the provocative act of taking down the Union flag on all but 18 days of the year. NI has had a relatively peaceful past 20 years since the Good Friday agreement and this was an action that was GUARANTEED to stir up trouble again.

Northern Ireland is BRITISH by the overwhelming consent of the population.

What would the reaction be if a foreign (Irish) flag were to be flown over Stormont ??

Old Folkie, you are wrong on every account. 99% of posters on YA answers disagree with you as well as the Majority of people in Northern Ireland, The Police, Political Commentators including Liberal Unionism.

The flag issue is a red herring, the DUP and UUP caused the trouble by dropping 40,000 leaflets in East Belfast, a place that the DUP lost in the last election (there is the clue) to an already disenfranchised deeply paranoid people who see conspiracies everywhere because the Unionist establishment have made them that way. The flag flying was brought in line with the rest of the UK and NI to 17 designated days by 'Democratic Decision'. Mostprotesterss did not know that the Union flag flew all year round at city hall. I live here and did not know that.

It was as usual a PRdisasterr by the DUP and UUP that backfired on them. simple as that.

How can it ever be justifiable for yobs and that's all they are,to spoil life for those that wish and do live in harmony with good- will towards each other. The Flag, is just an excuse for some to return to unlawfulness and riotousness behaviour, which will never solve what they use as an excuse.

Surely the people have had enough of these street wars which are always against those that are responsible for law-enforcement.

I am proud of our Flag, but not of those who have to conduct themselves in defence of it as they are.

Many in truth, have no idea at all, why they are behaving as complete "Yobs" It seems just a game of attacking the police. No more or less.

Have anice day.

The people partaking in the riots are embarrassing us Northern Irish. We're currently the laughing stock of the world. It's pathetic, over something as stupid as a piece of material. It's got so out of hand that it's laughable. It's just an excuse for those low life scum to go out and vandalise and wreak havoc. The fact that they prevented an OAP from visiting his dying wife in hospital was the lowest of the low. It's gone on too long now.

George S - The protesters aren't Irish. They're "British and proud" so what you're talking about is completely irrelevant.

If you mean my Irish relatives they're never satisfied. They flooded North America along with hordes of my German relatives all through the 19th century and crashed the economy numerous times with their hungry excess labor undercutting wages like Asians are doing today.

In the middle of that century their giant hordes of potato rust refugees did it so badly heavy federal tariffs were threatened against the prior Scots-Irish immigrants who had fled from their wars with the English, French refugees along the Mississippi from wars with Britain in Canadian colonies, French Huguenots near the southeastern coast, and English settlers there who had set up cotton and tobacco trade with Europe and Britain. That inspired secession of those states and federal blockading of their ports started our horrible Civil War.

Lots of Irish died on both sides then. Irish seem to be good cannon fodder here, there, and anywhere they go. Their still growing hordes spread west after that war and swept away the Native Americans.

i personal think it silly all over a flag i bet if it wasnt on the news that time no one would of noticed.half the people fighting up there dont know what ther fighting about when as young as 13 is getting arrested.i think it just a easy targat to get the troubles started again

I agree with 'Laura x', it's so pathetic, all this fuss over a flag. Well said Laura.