Belfast Riots Have Northern Ireland Economy Teetering
Like they need more problems
Businesses in Belfast are counting the cost of a wave of riots they fear could undermine a fledgling tourist boom and scare foreign investors away from a city desperate top shake off its reputation for violence.
The unrest has been some of the most sustained in the British-controlled province of Northern Ireland since a 1998 peace deal ended 30 years of conflict between Catholics seeking union with Ireland and Protestant loyalists determined to remain part of the United Kingdom.
Loyalists have held nightly protests since Irish nationalist councillors voted last month to end a century-old tradition of flying the British union flag every day over Belfast City Hall, exposing a deep vein of discontent with the peace deal.
Hide Comments (0)
Editor's Note: As of February 29, 2024, commenting privileges on reason.com posts are limited to Reason Plus subscribers. Past commenters are grandfathered in for a temporary period. Subscribe here to preserve your ability to comment. Your Reason Plus subscription also gives you an ad-free version of reason.com, along with full access to the digital edition and archives of Reason magazine. We request that comments be civil and on-topic. We do not moderate or assume any responsibility for comments, which are owned by the readers who post them. Comments do not represent the views of reason.com or Reason Foundation. We reserve the right to delete any comment and ban commenters for any reason at any time. Comments may only be edited within 5 minutes of posting. Report abuses.
Please
to post commentsMute this user?
Ban this user?
Un-ban this user?
Nuke this user?
Un-nuke this user?
Flag this comment?
Un-flag this comment?