Statement by Sandra Feldman,
President, American Federation of Teachers,
on Recent Death Threats against School Personnel in Northern Ireland

We join teacher union leaders, parents and teachers in Ireland and the United Kingdom in condemning recent threats and attacks against school personnel and children in Northern Ireland. In early January, a group of extremists in Northern Ireland issued death threats to all teachers and school personnel in Catholic schools in northern Belfast, calling school staff there "legitimate targets." This threat followed attacks on Catholic school children in September and a more recent escalation of violence at Catholic and Protestant schools, which included rioting, an armed attack on a school in Ballysillan, bomb threats and the stoning of a school bus.

Those who threaten or kill school children and teachers are extremists whose goal is to increase tension in the area and disrupt the peace process. The American Federation of Teachers urges all partners in the Northern Ireland peace process to end the violence so that schools can get back to their mission.

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