Riot police break up parade protest

Police in riot gear moved in to clear a sit-down Republican protest in North Belfast today as thousands of Orangemen took to the streets for the Battle of the Boyne commemoration parade.

Around 60 demonstrators were lifted from the Crumlin Road in the flashpoint Ardoyne district during a 30-minute operation.

The move came ahead of an Orange march which is due to pass through the staunchly Catholic area en route to a mass rally in the city centre.

Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams and North Belfast MLA Gerry Kelly called for calm as police moved in on the protesters shortly after 8am.

The demonstrators, who wore white T-shirts with the slogan “Equality and Respect for Ardoyne Residents”, were surrounded on one side by police and on the other by troops in riot gear.

Northern Ireland chief constable Sir Hugh Orde appealed for peace ahead of a tense day in the North and said hundreds of riot police are on stand-by if trouble breaks 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 area after the day’s festivities in the city centre.

The Ardoyne parade is part of a series of July 12 demonstrations across Northern Ireland, including Derry where Orangemen will parade on the nationalists’ West Bank for the first time in 13 years.

Mr Adams hit out at the decision to let the parade pass the Ardoyne and criticised the security operation.

He said: “The huge military presence is entirely over the top.

“There are huge amounts of British soldiers here and life just stops, nothing happens and you can’t go about your business.”

As the marchers came down the route cleared by police, senior republicans urged the protesters to remain dignified.

The chant for Orangemen to enter into dialogue with nationalist residents was echoed by the Sinn Féin president.

“I defend their right to march,” he insisted.

“But in these communities where they are not welcome, it is good manners, it is neighbourly, to come and talk about it.”

Mr Adams also stressed that everything possible would be done to stop trouble breaking out when the parade returns tonight.

“We will do our best, but all of this has to be replicated by the police, the British army and especially the Orangemen.”