Police ready for Orange Orders parades

A major security operation is under way in Northern Ireland today as thousands of Orangemen take to the streets for the Battle of the Boyne commemoration parades.

Police and troops will be on standby in north Belfast where marchers will pass the flashpoint Ardoyne district on two separate occasions.

Northern Ireland Chief Constable Sir Hugh Orde appealed for peace ahead of a tense day in the province and said hundreds of riot police were on standby if trouble broke out.

He declared: “I have more than enough resources to deal with anything I have to deal with.”

Last year loyalists and nationalists pelted each other with missiles in Ardoyne as the Orangemen passed through the staunchly Catholic area after the day’s festivities in the city centre.

The Ardoyne parade is part of a series of Twelfth of July demonstrations across Northern Ireland, including Derry where Orangemen will parade on the nationalist Westbank for the first time in 13 years.

It followed an agreement between business leaders in the city and senior members of the Order.

Mr Orde said he was confident that parade would pass off trouble-free.

But there is major concern among his senior officers over what might happen when Orangemen pass any protesters gathered at Ardoyne shopfronts as they make their return from the Belfast demonstration.

Fears have intensified since 18 police officers and 11 civilians were injured when nationalists rioted at a loyalist parade in the area last month.

Mr Orde made an appeal for influential figures on both sides to help stop any outbreaks.

He said: “I don’t think it’s too late for any community leader to say, ‘Let’s look at what needs to be done and how we can comply with the law’.”

But with officers called in from across Northern Ireland for the Ardoyne parade and another potentially tense procession on the Springfield Road in west Belfast, he insisted police would not be caught unprepared.

“My officers and soldiers are in the middle of this. That’s a very difficult place to be,” Mr Orde added.

“We are more than capable of dealing with whatever happens.

“We will do our job, but other people have to do their job.”

Sinn Féin also called for calm ahead of the parades, which will feature a silent tribute to the victims of the terrorist attacks in London.

Party president Gerry Adams said: “The Parades Commission have created an extremely dangerous situation in Ardoyne.

“The Orange Order have been rewarded for refusing to engage in dialogue with local residents and will be allowed to parade through an area where the sole purpose is to cause offence.”

The West Belfast MP said his party had been working to ensure the situation in Ardoyne does not “spiral out of control”.

Meanwhile the Orange Order confirmed a minute’s silence would be held as a mark of respect for those who died in London.

A spokesman for the Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland said: “Inevitably, the events of last week have cast a shadow over our celebrations.

“The people of Northern Ireland have more experience than most of the effects of terrorism in recent years, and the thoughts of many parading tomorrow will be focused on the relatives of those who lost their lives in the capital.

“The greatest tribute we can pay those who died is to carry on with our democratic traditions and to ensure that the Twelfth passes off peacefully.”

Today is the high point of the summer marching season and will see members of the Orange Order mark the anniversary of King William of Orange’s victory over King James in 1690.

Last night bonfires were lit across the North to mark the opening of the commemorations.