Long shocked by apparent racial attack

2.25.28pm GMT Thu 23rd Feb 2006

Alliance Party Vice Chair Michael Long has expressed shock at a double attack on a Filipino family in Dundonald last night.

The Castlereagh Councillor stated: "What do people think these attacks prove? What precisely are they trying to achieve?

"We can do as much work as we like to try to provide community leadership to deprived districts in the Belfast area, but there is simply no excuse for an attack which could have taken the life of a family, including a child. It is utterly shameful that such things are still going on.

"People in Northern Ireland trying to make an honest living, no matter what their origin, deserve to be treated with respect as part of the community, not as outsiders deemed targets for hate-filled venom.

"I would urge anyone who can help the police with their enquiries to do so. This kind of attack is utterly unacceptable and the community as a whole must see to it that it is never repeated."

ENDS