Although imposing conditions on the protest, the commission said that it was happy for both the homecoming parade and the protest to go ahead but imposed conditions on the Sinn Fein march.

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And, in a rare attack on Sinn Fein policy, Northern Ireland's leading republican newspaper has joined the myriad voices calling on Sinn Fein to abandon its plan to disrupt the Belfast homecoming parade.

As pressure mounted across both nationalist and unionist communities for the protest to be abandoned, the Andersonstown News yesterday said that Sinn Fein should move its protest to a different date in order to avoid potential disturbances.

Yesterday the Army moved the homecoming parade forward by an hour to 11am to facilitate Belfast shopowners, but Sinn Fein promptly responded by moving its protest forward by an hour, ensuring the timings will coincide.

On Thursday night, the Parades Commission released a statement explaining its decision to allow both the homecoming parade and protest to take place but said that Sinn Fein's supporters should not come closer than 40 metres to the homecoming parade.

It praised both the MoD and Sinn Fein for engaging with it, but said that dissident republicans, who have vowed to give the troops a "hostile reception" would be breaking the law if they go ahead.

Calling on police to prevent such illegal protests, it said: "We are aware that others are planning alternative protest events and are doing so outside the legal process.

"These have not been notified to the Parades Commission and if they go ahead they will be acting illegally.

"We would urge those responsible to take account of the overwhelming desire amongst the wider community for a peaceful day on November 2.
"Illegal parades or protests are unhelpful and are a matter for the PSNI to deal with."

Following the SDLP and a prominent Catholic priest calling for Sinn Fein not to disrupt the homecoming parade, yesterday the Andersonstown News said in an editorial: "Even at this late stage, would it not be of more benefit to the republican cause if the anti-war and anti-UDR/RIR protest was moved to another date?

"The same points could be made as forcefully and would be heard much more clearly without the risk of damaging steadily improving inter-community relations in Belfast."

The paper – which is extremely influential within republicanism – argued that Sinn Fein was simply following Ian Paisley's lead from the 1970s by organising a counter-protest, adding: "Therefore, the news that republicans are to stage a counter-demonstration to the 'welcome home' parade and rally for the British Army came as a surprise to many nationalists."

And, although stressing its own anti-homecoming parade credentials, the paper argued that republicans should be mature enough to respect the views of those who wish to welcome soldiers home.

"When nationalists won the right – at the cost of many lives – to protest for civil rights in Belfast city centre, it was never the intention to deny anyone else the same right."

And, describing them as "the type of people who attacked the police and engaged in rioting in Lurgan recently", it warned that dissident republicans could easily hijack Sinn Fein's protest.

An MoD spokesman said: "We are doing all we possibly can do to have a peaceful, respectful and solemn parade for those who have been deployed."

Late last night DUP MLA Nelson McCausland accused the Parades Commission of 'pandering to bigotry'.

He said: "The Parades Commission has simply caved in to the demands of Sinn Fein and their decision is a recipe for disaster.

"Thousands of people from the Greater Shankill and from north Belfast and Newtownabbey will want to walk down Donegall Place to get to the City Hall. However, the Parades Commission has handed Donegall Place over to Sinn Fein.

"Members of the general public, Protestant and Roman Catholic, will be re-routed away from Donegall Place and shunted down side streets to accommodate republican bigotry."