Speaking as the threat of disorder unfolds in the Village area of south Belfast, Gerry Carroll said: "The situation unfolding at the Donegal Road bonfire shows that the threat of loyalist violence and intimidation is still with us. Every year around the Twelfth, sectarian tensions are heightened. The latest saga at the Donegal Road bonfire shows the absurdity of politics in the North."
"Despite recent statements about loyalist paramilitaries finally ‘decommissioning’, loyalist paramilitaries clearly hold a tight grip on local communities. This bonfire site is at an interface area, smack bang in the middle of neighbourhoods blighted by poverty, alienation and decades of sectarian division."
"We are seeing a toxic mix of asbestos, a health and safety nightmare, fused together with sectarianism. Whilst it's unquestionable that this bonfire should not remain, the obvious question is how was it allowed to be erected?"
"It would be foolish not to mention the role played by politicians in the community and in Stormont to court, fund and protect loyalist paramilitaries over many decades. These figures should have been shunned; instead, the red carpet rolled out repeatedly. This has led directly to riots in Ballymena, the bonfires at Donegal Road and Moygashel."
"Despite the PSNI often being at pains not to identify the role of paramilitaries in violence and disorder, their pernicious and persistent role in stoking division and organising pogroms is as clear as day."
"‘Normal’ politics at Stormont, Westminster and the Dáil have failed people right across this island. Young people on both sides of the Donegal Road should be angry about poverty, the housing crisis, violence against women and many other issues faced by deprived communities."
"Rioting and blocking roads under the direction of local brigadiers is a dead end strategy and will bring nothing to working class people anywhere."
"Inevitable attempts to criminalise young people or to use plastic or rubber bullets on them will only serve the interests of local paramilitaries. We urge people not to be dragged into sectarian rioting or similar types of behaviour. In the coming days, we need to ensure calm heads prevail."