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Daniel Waldron, 23 June 09

THE BRUTAL murder of Kevin McDaid is a shocking reminder that the threat of sectarian violence in Northern Ireland is far from gone. Mr. McDaid, a community worker in the Heights, a mostly Catholic area of Coleraine, was viciously beaten to death by a gang of up to 40 thugs outside his home after attempting to save a neighbour who was being attacked by the mob. His wife and other neighbours, including a pregnant woman, were also assaulted.

It has been suggested that the attackers aimed to remove a tricolour which had been put up in the area, a flag which Kevin McDaid had been calling for the removal of. But the unprovoked nature of the attacks makes it clear that the gang were intent on violence from the start.
Nine men have been arrested on charges relating to the assaults, six with murder. However, the role of the police in the incident has also been called into question. Ryan McDaid, the son of the victim, says that police stood and watched from 100 yards away as his father was savaged. The Police Ombudsman is also investigating allegations that a police officer sent texts to local loyalists about the presence of the flag.
Whether or not this allegation is true, it is clear that this was not a spontaneous or drunken attack, but appears to have been planned and organised well in advance.

This is a horrifying demonstration of the threat that gangs of mindless bigots can still pose to innocent, working class people in both communities.
Of course, all the main parties have condemned the attack, but these politicians are responsible for stoking up sectarian tension. The main parties rely on sectarian division to maintain their support bases, and regularly try to turn questions about the provision of public services into dogfights between the communities.

The policies of the Stormont Executive also create the conditions in which bigotry can grow. Coleraine, like most of Northern Ireland, has seen a dramatic increase in unemployment over the past year. The politicians’ determination to continue with privatisation, job losses, pay cuts and attacks on public services means a bleak future for workers and young people, with insecure, service sector jobs the best many can hope for. The lack of a working class alternative which can unite people against these policies allows scope for sectarian organisations to draw support.

Community workers in Belfast organised a well attended protest at short notice outside Belfast City Hall to demonstrate their opposition. It is vital that the trade union movement responds quickly in future to sectarian attacks and murders in the areas where they are committed to provide workers with an anti-sectarian vehicle to express their opposition and to isolate the bigots. The trade union movement should combine with genuine community groups to develop anti-sectarian campaigns in working class communities to cut across sectarianism.

Crucially, however, the unions must now look towards building a new party which fights in the common interests of all workers, against the neo-liberal policies of the Executive, and to prevent working class people being dragged into an escalation of sectarian conflict.

Socialist Party, 13 Lombard St, Belfast BT1 1RB Tel: 02890232962 e-mail: socialistpartyni@btconnect.com