„The violence of the last few days in Northern Ireland has been in marked contrast to the earlier part of this year's marching season. The Drumcree march and many other marches passed off peacefully, or largely peacefully. Now, however, we have again seen people out on the streets rioting, we have seen police officers and members of the public injured, and we have seen shotguns, blast bombs, petrol bombs, bricks and other missiles thrown across communities and at the police. We have seen again the use of baton rounds and water cannon.
The scenes of destruction evoke the memories of years gone by. There were reports not only of hooded, masked men engaging in violence but also of small children on top of the shops at Ardoyne, a traditional location for hurling down missiles on anyone below. This violence, though, is on a smaller scale, looks very clearly orchestrated and bears the marks of dissident republicanism.”