Refusal due to orangemen not talking to residents

Nobody is surprised at yet another ban on the annual Portadown Orangemen's march.

At the heart of the Parade Commission's refusal to meet the Orangemen's demand to return home from Drumcree church through the Garvaghy Road is a refusal by the Orangemen to enter into dialogue with the Garvaghy Road residents.

The chairman of the Parades Commission, Tony Holmes, spoke of a perceptible change and not insignificant shift in the thinking of the orangemen.

This is a reference to the dialogue that has taken place between South African human rights lawyer, Brian Curran, and the orangemen.

Now the police and army are bracing themselves for a sizeable security operation in Portadown this weekend.