Talks aimed at resolving the dispute over the Orange Order march in Drumcrie will continue on Wednesday, with Northern Ireland Minister Chris Bryant taking part. Meanwhile, a coalition of Harvaigh Road residents has rejected mediation with the unionists and filed a new legal challenge seeking to reinstate the nearly 30-year-old ban on the march along that road.
Briefly about the main points
- The Harvagi Road Residents’ Coalition has stated that mediation with the unionists is not possible.
- The new legal action seeks to reinstate the ban on the Orange Order march.
- A court hearing regarding the Parades Commission’s decision is scheduled for Friday.
- Members of the Orange Order remain inside Drumcre Church, awaiting police action.
- The police are not breaking up the unauthorised protest due to the risk of violence.
The parties have differing views on the possibility of mediation
Following a meeting with Bryant, the leader of the Garvaghy Road Residents’ Coalition Briandán McKeon He told residents that the mediation was «dead». According to him, the community wants the march to be cancelled altogether; he cited the views of nearly 4,000 local residents.
A representative of the Portadown Orange Order Nigel Dawson, on the contrary, described his discussion with the minister about a possible mediator as constructive. He stated that he expects the law to be applied to the march. Both sides are due to hold further separate meetings with Bryant, but there are no signs of a compromise at present.
The coalition is challenging the grounds for the Parades Commission’s decision
In its new claim, the coalition argues that the Parades Commission made a serious error when it granted permission Orange Order to walk along Garvagi Road. The decision paved the way for a march along this road for the first time in almost three decades.
At a special hearing of the High Court on Saturday, the coalition’s lawyer Denise Kayli KC She stated that the commission’s documents contained risk assessments of potential disturbances based on previous applications for marches, but did not analyse the impending threat. The hearing is scheduled for Friday.
The Orange Order returned to the church after yet another attempt to follow the route
Members of the Portadown Orange Order left Drumcre Church on Sunday night – the first time they had done so since the start of the standoff – from where the march was due to begin. After yet another attempt to march along Harrogate Road, in which a DUP MP took part Carla Lockhart, they returned to the church on Wednesday morning.
The participants stated that they would remain there until the police allowed them to complete the march. Their stance is keeping the standoff over the route alive, despite parallel discussions with the government.
Irish politicians and Bertie Ahern warned against an escalation
The leader of Sinn Féin Mary Lou McDonald and the first female Minister of Northern Ireland Michelle O’Neill They discussed the dispute in Dublin with the Irish Prime Minister, Micheál Martin, and his Deputy Prime Minister, Simon Harris.
Martin described the authorisation of the march as incomprehensible and wrong. McDonald said that this decision could drag the community and society back to difficult times. Former Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern, one of the co-authors of the 1998 peace agreement, warned of the danger of a return to a «tribal past».
The police are not breaking up the protest at the start of Garvagi Road
The gathering of protesters at the start of Harvagi Road on Wednesday had not been notified to the Parades Commission. Legislation in Northern Ireland requires that protests associated with marches be notified to this body and that its approval be obtained.
The police are not yet attempting to disperse the protesters, fearing that this might provoke violence. The next procedural step in the dispute is due to be a hearing at the High Court on Friday.
