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DUP leader Gavin Robinson has stressed the importance of talks around the Drumcree parading dispute continuing. The latest discussions involving the Orange Order , Garvaghy Road residents and Secretary of State Sir Chris Bryant broke up without resolution late on Thursday . Earlier, Justice Minister Naomi Long urged Orange Order members to “do the right thing”, saying they had the legal right to complete their march along the Garvaghy Road, but suggested that doing so may not be wise.
She said people across Northern Ireland were feeling “despair” at the reawakening of the tensions in Portadown, on the sixth day of the standoff which has cost £3 million to police. First Minister Michelle O’Neill hailed a joint letter from a group of people from a Protestant background, now signed by 480, calling for the impasse to be brought to an end. Irish Congress of Trade Unions general secretary Owen Reidy called for the “hard-won peace” to be protected, and described “those who seek to undermine” as “unwelcome echoes of the past”.
The Portadown District of the unionist Orange Order wants to complete its traditional route for the first time in almost 30 years after the Parades Commission ruled they should be allowed along the Garvaghy Road, but the coalition of residents in the largely nationalist area is opposed to the march going ahead. A fresh legal appeal by the residents is to be heard in the Court of Appeal on Monday. Speaking to media in Belfast on Friday, Mr Robinson commended Sir Chris for hosting mediation talks, and “recognising that the rule of law must be upheld”.
He also welcomed Chief Constable Jon Boutcher saying a criminal investigation was under way into potential law breaking around the dispute. “It is clear that over the last number of days there are too many people who have acted in a deeply reckless way,” he said. “I think it is important at a time of budget problems, fuel crisis and issues affecting people right throughout this province that they look to us for leadership, and that is leadership that we will give, not the recklessness of others but the resolve to get things done.” Mr Robinson added: “It is important that those talks continue and that if there is a mediated resolution to be found that it is reached grounded on the rule of law.
“I think very clearly when you have people who are lawmakers who are acting as lawbreakers, who have clearly frustrated the will of a statutory body and the Court of Appeal, then there should be consequences for those, and that will have to come. “The Chief Constable has now launched a major criminal investigation, and that major criminal investigation needs to be given the space to do its work. “I expect to see that work commence next week but it needs space to conclude as well.” Stormont Justice Minister Naomi Long suggested the right to march should not be exercised (PA) (PA Wire) Speaking on RTÉ Radio’s Morning Ireland programme, Ms Long said the trauma of the Drumcree dispute reawakened after almost 30 years “runs very deep” not just on the Garvaghy Road but across Northern Ireland.
“I think people are feeling a degree of despair, a degree of incredulity that we are back here again after 28 years,” she said. “People are angry that this has happened and are frustrated that we are back in this kind of dispute.” She appealed to the Orange Order that there is a “difference between what the law permits you to do and what is wise”. “They have now established that they have a right to walk on the Garvaghy Road, they do not need to exercise that right,” she said.
“They have established it in law. “They can do the right thing by the entire community on the Garvaghy Road, and I believe many people who support the Orange Order and right across Northern Ireland, and they can go back by the route that they went to Drumcree Hill, because there is another route of exactly the same length that will take them back to Carleton Street, Orange Hall, and over which there is no dispute. “I would appeal to people to be wise.
“The courts can’t rule for reconciliation ... that requires people to show wisdom and courage and grace and generosity, and that’s what’s required at this point in time.” Dr Richard Haass said he was disappointed (PA) (PA Archive) Former US special envoy to Northern Ireland Dr Richard Haass said he was disappointed but not surprised at the situation, saying the region “has not done a very good job at dealing with these issues”. “One of the things I tried to do in my last diplomatic effort was to get people to come to terms with the legacy of the past, and Northern Ireland has failed to do that, and you have a whole new generation coming of age that has not learned an authoritative or balanced history,” he told BBC Radio Ulster. “Some people are romanticising the ‘good old days’ when things like this happened.
I think this is a reminder that if you don’t deal with things, they don’t get better.” On Thursday Sir Chris told reporters that while that was the end of those conversations, his door remained open. “We haven’t come to a settled agreement and it’s a shame but my door remains open obviously, tomorrow and in future days,” he said. “We’ve discussed a wide range of options, including mediation, including an option where the right to march was respected but wasn’t exercised, including an option where there was a final march and no further applications for marches into the future, and we’ve not managed to come to agreement on any of all that.” Loyalist activist and legal adviser to the Orangemen Jamie Bryson said they will accept the determination of the legal appeal on Monday as he challenged residents of Garvaghy Road to commit to walking away if their bid failed.
Speaking after the talks ended on Thursday, Mr Bryson said: “The challenge that we would put down to the Garvaghy Road residents – they’re going to the Court of Appeal on Monday – if the Court of Appeal upholds this determination, commit to accepting the law and walk away, and we’ll do the same. “Abide by the law, and if the Court of Appeal upholds the determination, get off the road, stop breaking the law, and allow the parade to go ahead. “If we lose, we’ll accept that.” Breandán Mac Cionnaith, of the Garvaghy Road Residents’ Coalition, told reporters the Secretary of State wanted residents and the Orange Order to reach agreement but “the reality is” there is “no such thing as half a march”.
He said: “There’s a march, or there’s not a march – simply that. “We’ve made a share that our community has not given us any mandate to speak about a march.” Asked if the talks had run their course, he said: “For the time being, yes.” Mr Mac Cionnaith added: “They may want to re-embark upon another process at some stage, but the current process is done.” An open letter signed by 140 people of a Protestant background told Sir Chris and Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs Helen McEntee that while they recognise the Portadown District regard Drumcree as unfinished business, they were “distressed by the trauma that is being visited on the residents of the Garvaghy Road after 28 years of calm”. “We appeal to the Orange Order to look towards the bigger picture and bring this impasse to an end in the interests of our entire community,” they said.
“We urge the British and Irish Governments to act together and without delay: to restore stability, to ensure that the parading framework is robust and trusted, and to spare the residents of the Garvaghy Road a return to the fear they endured for so many summers. “This is a time when all of us committed to a better future have a responsibility to raise our voices to protect peace, progress and a shared society free from sectarianism. “We must avoid the abyss we are currently staring into.
“For the future of our children and grandchildren, we cannot go backwards.” The signatories include former Alliance MLA Trevor Lunn, Presbyterian Minister Rev David Latimer and former DUP adviser Wallace Thompson. In a post on social media, Ms O’Neill said: “I want to commend the courage of those from a Protestant background who have come out in support of the rights of the people of Garvaghy Road. “A huge and growing number of people from Protestant backgrounds are now signing a letter calling for no Orange march to be forced down.”
Source: The Independent
