'People deserve answers on migration'
‘Politicians predictably issuing condemnation and then reverting to ignoring the issues will not address the frustration in the community’ - Emmet Doyle, Aontú
Aontú is seeking “transparency and accountability” on the movements of the perpetrator of Monday night’s “horrific knife attack in Belfast”.
The party has also moved to “secure answers for communities on migration” according to the party’s Ballyarnett representative, Emmet Doyle.
"The attack in North Belfast was horrific, and the perpetrator must be held accountable. However, underlying some of the legitimate anger expressed following the event centres on the fact that politicians refuse to answer questions about migration, which in turn is being used by those who would resort to violence,” said Mr Doyle.
“Frankly, no party in the North has any record of seeking answers to the questions ordinary people have: Where are people coming from? Are they subject to background checks? And how many people from outside Ireland, legally and otherwise, are actually here?
“We know from working on this issue in the Dáíl that the vast majority of people entering the South to claim International Protection are now coming over the land border from the North. Outside of two small policing operations on either side of the border, there are no checks.
‘The attack in North Belfast was horrific, and the perpetrator must be held accountable’
“We now know that the perpetrator of the knife attack in Belfast is of Sudanese nationality, and entered the island from Paris. This raises the question of whether he had a valid visa - a question we put to the Justice Minister for an answer as soon as possible. We also need to know if he claimed asylum, and if a background check was carried out before he left for Belfast.
“As members of the Good Friday Committee and the committee that addresses migration in the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly, we have sought emergency meetings to determine when he left the South, when he entered the North and how, where he applied for asylum there and what checks were carried out on his background, if any,” said Mr Doyle.
“People want answers, not just about this attack but on migration in general, and they are entitled to them,” he added.
“Politicians predictably issuing condemnation and then reverting to ignoring the issues will not address the frustration in the community, but we will seek accountability and let people know what we know, as they should."