Orange Order suggests 15,000 people could rally in Portadown town centre
A major Orange rally will take place in Portadown town centre tomorrow night related to the Drumcree parade dispute – with the order suggesting some 15,000 people could attend.
The number of bands taking part in the Orange Order parade has more than doubled this week from 10 to 25.
Organisers have told the Parades Commission they expect 5,000 participants and 10,000 spectators.
The News Letter understands that the usual speakers at recent Portadown Orange rallies - Carla Lockhart, Jim Allister and Jamie Bryson, are not due to speak at the associated rally.
Instead, very senior Orange figures have been invited to take part, although this is not confirmed.
Former Upper Bann MLA Dolores Kelly said he was concerned. "Whatever happens I hope it remains peaceful," she said.
She also noted the French students rioting over cuts to public services. While stating she would not support street violence, she noted how people elsewhere are protesting about public services. By contrast, she said, in Northern Ireland there seems to be a lot of "distraction politics".
She added: "I understand that feelings are high but people should take some time to reflect. I don't think it's wise calling people out onto the street."
During the original Drumcree protests in the 1990s, she said, the leaders who called them out were not arrested but the working class people were.
"They then ended up before the courts, or sometimes kicking their heels in a police cell, and the people that called them out on the streets went off on their holidays."
Police said there will be “an appropriate and proportionate policing operation” in place.
The parade is not planned to parade along the Garvaghy Road but to mainly focus on the town centre.
Various bands across Northern Ireland have vowed not to notify the Parades Commission of parades this year in protest at the Secretary of State banning the Orange Parade from Drumcree Parish Church along the Garvaghy Road into Portadown.
Earlier this week Portadown Orange District Master Nigel Dawson told the News Letter: "We already have six bands from Portadown that attend all our parades – that’s a given."
Other messages were coming in that bands were coming from Tyrone, Bangor and Ballymena, he added.
The parade is stated to begin at Watson Street at 7pm and will travel westward to the town plaza, where a rally will be held, before heading back to Watson Street. The district’s message said: “For us, this is about more than a parade.
"It is about the rule of law, the right to peaceful assembly, and the principle that lawful decisions must be upheld.
"Our community has every reason to be angry and deeply disappointed at the decision to overturn our lawful parade determination following the threat of Republican violence.
"We believe the actions of the Chief Constable and Secretary of State have undermined confidence in the rule of law and sent a deeply troubling message about whether lawful decisions will be respected when faced with threats and intimidation.”