HUNDREDS of police officers were deployed in Glasgow as two republican marches were held in the city, with 10 arrests made and an police officer hospitalised.
More than 1000 people took part in the processions and counter protests, which were heavily policed by officers in riot gear while a helicopter buzzed overhead.
During the second procession an officer was injured after being hit by fireworks thrown by protesters on Clyde Street near the river. He required immediate medical treatment and was taken to hospital.
Yesterday’s events took place after clashes between marchers and protesters in the Govan area on August 30. First Minister Nicola Sturgeon condemned “sectarian disruption” as “utterly unacceptable” at the time and Glasgow City Council said it planned to stop “morons intent on bringing mayhem to the streets of our city”. However yesterday’s parades were given the go-ahead following meetings with Glasgow City Council chief executive Annemarie O’Donnell and Police Scotland.
The first march –A Cairde Na Heireann (Calton Republicans) – started at 2pm in Calton in the Eastend of the city, finishing by the River Clyde. The second event – the Friends of Irish Republican Prisoners Welfare Association parade – which was due to start at Blythswood Square at 15:00 in the city centre but was held up for an hour, with police seen running through the city centre to intercept it. It ended at Barrowlands Park in the Gallowgate.
A heavy police presence was on hand to separate marchers from counter-protesters, the majority of whom appeared to be held at King George V Bridge, next to the Riverboat Casino on the banks of the Clyde. As marchers proceeded, fireworks which appeared to have come from the counter-protesters were set off, with police telling members of the public to move back from the area.
Assistant chief constable Bernard Higgins, thanked officers for “first class policing on a challenging day” and condemned the violence. “A significant number of those who attended as part of the counter protests were intent on stopping the processions from taking place but were prevented from doing so by prompt and decisive police action,” he added.
“I am, however, disgusted at the recklessness and stupidity of those who decided to throw pyrotechnics, one of which injured an officer.”
Glasgow City Council has said though the law “expects it to facilitate public processions” the city “needs and wants fewer marches”.
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