A DUP MP has insisted that nationalist residents on the road have ‘nothing to fear’ from the march on Sunday.
A decision to allow the Orange Order to walk along the Garvaghy Road in Portadown for the first time in almost 30 years has been described by Sinn Féin President Mary Lou McDonald as “utterly reckless”.
However, a DUP MP has insisted that nationalist residents on the road have “nothing to fear” from the march on Sunday.
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 is expected on Friday evening.
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 expected to assist under mutual aid arrangements.
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.
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.”
DUP MP Carla 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.”
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.”
