The Prime Minister has appealed for leaders to “work calmly” through the weekend after the Orange Order was given permission to walk along the Garvaghy Road in Portadown for the first time in almost 30 years.
Andy Burnham said he understood there would be “concern across Northern Ireland” following the determination on the contentious Drumcree parade.
Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald has described the decision as “utterly reckless”, while DUP MP Carla Lockhart said nationalist residents on the road have “nothing to fear” from the march on Sunday.
Ruling and restrictions
Northern Ireland’s Justice Minister Naomi Long has urged those in leadership against sending a signal that there is “justification for anything other than peaceful protest”.
The Parades Commission, which rules on contentious marches in Northern Ireland, delivered its highly anticipated ruling on Friday afternoon on the order’s application for the Drumcree parade, following extensive submissions. A legal challenge to the ruling will take place on Saturday.
Around 200 people gathered outside Belfast High Court on Friday night where they were addressed by Breandán Mac Cionnaith from the Garvaghy Road Residents’ Coalition, Ms McDonald and Sinn Féin vice president Michelle O’Neill. Mr Mac Cionnaith told the crowd that the days of the parade “should never be repeated again”. Ms McDonald received loud cheers as she told the crowd she was “determined there would be no march along the Garvaghy Road”.
Conditions imposed
The commission has placed a number of restrictions on the procession, including an 8am start time and limiting the number of participants to 35 people. That is a reduction from the application from the Portadown District of the Orange Order, which proposed 60 Orange Order members take part in the procession on Sunday September 27.
The conditions also include that the parade must disperse from Carleton Street Orange Hall no later than 9.30am, and that only the Portadown District banner may be carried or displayed during the Garvaghy Road section. No supporters are to accompany the parade or congregate along the parade route or in the vicinity of homes on the Dungannon Road and Drumcree Road, and no bands may participate.
The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) is expected to put in place a significant security operation for the parade with officers from outside the region set to assist under mutual aid arrangements.
Background and reactions
The residents of the mainly nationalist Garvaghy Road strongly opposed the return parade going along the route. The Orange Order and the DUP argued it was an opportunity to right a historic wrong. It comes after a High Court ruling quashed the commission’s most recent determination over the march. The body has blocked the order from marching along the Garvaghy Road in July every year since 1998.
The Drumcree parade dominated headlines in the 1990s when violent clashes and political tension necessitated a major security operation for several summers, as Garvaghy Road residents rejected the march passing through the community. A number of people were killed during tensions in the 1990s linked to the dispute.
Following the Friday determination, Mr Burnham told UTV: “Clearly there’ll be concern across Northern Ireland about it. It’s a significant decision and all I can say is that the decision has been made – I’m not in a position to cut across the decision because that would be wrong were I to do that. The only thing is for me to ask people to work calmly through the events of the weekend – easy for me to say from here and I appreciate very different in Northern Ireland. But we need to obviously work hard, in these difficult times that we’re in, not to go backwards.”
Mr Burnham said First Minister Ms O’Neill “will be in touch with” the Northern Ireland Secretary Sir Chris Bryant. “Where support is needed, we will provide it,” the Prime Minister added. “But we do have to obviously work with the decision.”
Political statements
Speaking to the media in Belfast, Ms McDonald said: “The decision by the Parades Commission is utterly reckless. It shows a complete disregard for the rights of the community of the Garvaghy Road, of their absolute right to live free from sectarian harassment. But much more than that, it shows absolute disregard and recklessness in respect of the progress that has been made over decades to create a new and hopeful beginning for communities like the Garvaghy Road, right across the north and beyond. This is a disgraceful and a shocking decision. We’ve been in touch with the chief constable, with the secretary of state, with the Taoiseach, with the Tánaiste, we have been in touch with all stakeholders to impress upon them that they now, like us, must stand shoulder to shoulder with the people of the Garvaghy Road. We are aware that there is an appeal process in the courts this evening, but beyond that it needs to be made clear to the chief constable, to the secretary of state, that this parade must not go ahead.”
Ms McDonald said the decision was “an assault and a challenge to the Good Friday Agreement, to the building of peace, to all of the progress that has been made over decades and decades of effort”. She added: “There are implications for the entire political and social environment in which all of us operate. That is how serious this is for now.”
Ms Lockhart spoke to the media at an Orange Hall in Portadown. She said: “Thirty-five men walking down a road silently with no bands in an orderly fashion; there is nothing to fear. These men live, work and do business in this community. For those residents, I would just ask them not to get caught up in the hysteria that is being shown by Sinn Féin. Look at what is happening, look at the men who are walking. These are men that have stood on the hill in Drumcree for 28 years, they haven’t broken a determination of the Parades Commission. They are not engaging in any untoward activity.”
Ms Long said people “need to respect the Parades Commission’s determination”. She added: “It is a matter of regret that it did not prove possible to achieve a mediated or agreed accommodation in respect of the proposed Drumcree Orange Order parade. There will clearly be differing views on the determination, however, it is important that all involved keep their public pronouncements respectful and temperate. Those in leadership in particular need to avoid saying or doing anything that could send a signal that a determination of the Parades Commission – whatever anyone may think or feel about it – is ever justification for anything other than peaceful protest.”
The Irish Government has said it is “very concerned” by the Parades Commission’s decision. In a statement, Dublin said: “The Government is conscious of the very difficult and traumatic history associated with parades on the Garvaghy Road. The Government does not want to see a return to the divisions of the past. That would be a retrograde step. Government officials have been liaising closely with residents in the area.” It added: “The Government is aware that an appeal of the determination is now likely. It is important that all parties continue to respect the legal process as they have done to date.”
