PSNI: “The time for posturing on this issue… is now passed.”

After two nights of violence on the streets of north Belfast, during which over 60 officers were injured, 6 baton rounds fired, and 8 arrests made, the PSNI Assistant Chief Constable Will Kerr has issued a challenge to politicians.  From the Irish Times report

Police said the trouble was started by loyalists and that nationalists were also involved.

Mr Kerr acknowledged that the trouble has raised concerns about whether a massive Orange Order parade on September 29th will pass off peacefully and about further trouble in the run-up to the parade.

The 6-mile parade from Belfast City Hall to Stormont commemorates the centenary of the signing of the anti-Home Rule Ulster Covenant. It will feature more than 20,000 Orangemen, 100 bands and tens of thousands of spectators.

Mr Kerr said Northern Ireland could not afford to wait for an “11th hour” solution on September 29th. He said politicians from both sides must stop their “posturing” and “sort it out and sort it out now”. [added emphasis]

“We are deeply worried about the lead up to Saturday September 29th,” said Mr Kerr. “You can’t sustain the levels of violence that we had over the past two nights and not worry about somebody getting killed.”

Here’s a quote from ACC Will Kerr in the UTV report

The time for posturing on this issue, and in relation to the issue of the covenant’s centenary parade on the 29th September, is now passed.

We need an urgent resolution to this issue or there is a very real possibility that somebody will get killed over the course of the next few days and weeks.

[Good luck with that… – Ed]  Indeed.