Jim Allister says 'Rasharkin must not be surrendered to lawless elements' after 'short altercation' takes place during parade in the village
TUV leader Jim Allister has claimed Rasharkin “must not be surrendered to lawless elements" after an altercation took place near the village’s Orange Hall on Saturday.
Mr Allister made the comments after police said they were in attendance at an Apprentice Boys feeder parade in Rasharkin on Saturday.
The PSNI say that "an appropriate and proportionate policing operation" was in place but a short altercation took place between some band members and two males also present in the area as the parade passed an Orange Hall in the village around 7.50pm.
The PSNI say that this was "quickly dispersed" by officers at scene and all those involved in the altercation left the area, with no further issues reported.
A PSNI statement says that enquiries are ongoing which will include an evidence-gathering operation from police body-worn cameras that will be reviewed in due course.
Responding to the incident, Mr Allister said: “It is disappointing that tonight (Saturday) in Rasharkin local hoodlums abused the returning Apprentice Boys Club and their band.
“There was failure by the PSNI to prepare for such a predictable event, given the aggressive history of republicans in Rasharkin.
"Inadequate measures were taken to protect the lawful procession.
“This notified and lawful parade should have been policed in a manner which prevented the abuse and threats of violence to which participants were subjected.
“Rasharkin must not be surrendered to lawless elements which wish to deny basic rights to Protestant bands and organisations.”
It comes after the News Letter reported earlier this week that official data shows that the proportion of Protestants living in Rasharkin has almost halved in 20 years.
The proportion of Protestants has gone from 26% in the 2001 Census to 14% in 2021.
While the number of overall residents has gone from 864 to 1,072 in that time, the number of Protestants has dropped from 225 to 154.
Meanwhile the proportion of Catholics in the village has gone from 74% to 80%, while the proportion of people whose religious background is “none” or “other” has gone from basically zero to 5%.
There has also been frequent attacks on the Orange Hall in the village in recent years.