Calm urged at city parade
THERE have been calls for calm ahead of this evening's controversial Tour of the North Orange Order parade in Belfast.
Last week the Parades Commission ruled that a feeder parade will not be
allowed to pass north Belfast's Ardoyne shop fronts tonight - the
scene of violent interface clashes in the past.
Parade organisers had hit out at the commission for publishing their decision on the contentious bi-annual march ahead of a further round of
inter-community talks.
Winston Irvine from the North and West Belfast Parades and Cultural
Forum said the group was "aghast" at the release of the Tour of the North determination last week, when further talks were due to take place
between marchers and Ardoyne residents.
Mr Irvine told the News Letter that the group had a "working relationship" with Ardoyne group CARA which had yielded "some success" in the past.
He said he believed there had been "possibility of an agreement" before
the commission had published its determination, banning the march
from the Ardoyne shop fronts.
He added: "There's a real feeling of frustration and a lot of anger about the way the commission went about this - we are still waiting to hear why.
"The irony is that the commission is meant to be the guardian of such dialogue and talks, and yet in this instance it simply waded in before
the dialogue had a chance to run its course.
"It just seems as though a lot of work was done for nothing - we are
absolutely aghast."
There had been fears that dissidents would use the 20-band strong
parade to increase sectarian tensions ahead of this summer's marchingseason.
Last July republicans organised gun and blast bomb attacks on police as
an Orange parade passed Ardoyne.
Appealing for calm, parades commission chair Rena Shepherd said: "Some people are predicting a difficult parading season but it has been shown in the past that tense parades can be managed in a calm and responsible manner.
"The commission is hopeful that will be the case in north Belfast
tomorrow and we call for all involved to work towards a peaceful parade
and protest tomorrow."
Speaking earlier this week, parade organiser Stephen McAllister said
Orangemen had "noted with disgust that their civil and religious liberties have again been denied to them by the unelected and undemocratic government quango known as the Parades Commission by curtailing the traditional route of this bi-annual parade".
However, Mr McAllister said the ban would "not detract from our celebration of Orange and British culture".
Mr McAllister added that in keeping with the traditions and principles of the Orange Institution, consumption of alcohol at the parade would be
strongly discouraged.
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Weather for Belfast
Sunday 27 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 13 C to 23 C
Wind Speed: 15 mph
Wind direction: East
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Sunny spells
Temperature: 12 C to 21 C
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