NI secretary calls for compromise as Drumcree parading stalemate enters third day
A PSNI vehicle near Drumcree Church following a weekend of tension at Drumcree in Portadown. Picture: Liam McBurney/PA Wire
Northern Ireland secretary Chris Bryant has called for all sides to “double down on compromise” to find a resolution to the Drumcree parading stalemate.
As the stand-off in Portadown entered a third day, foreign minister Helen McEntee said she believed it was “likely” an international mediator would be appointed to attempt to intervene.
Meanwhile, an urgent oral question that First Minister Michelle O’Neill refused to answer in the Northern Ireland Assembly on Monday has again been scheduled in the legislature’s plenary timetable on Tuesday.
A number of Orange Order members remain at Drumcree Church, expecting to be allowed to begin their permitted parade, which would pass along the mainly nationalist Garvaghy Road in Portadown.
However, protesters have maintained a presence at the side of the road, insisting that the parade should not be allowed to proceed.
Talks are expected to resume on Tuesday following a day of discussions at Hillsborough Castle on Monday and heated exchanges in the Northern Ireland Assembly.
The Northern Ireland secretary will return to the region to facilitate further discussions after leaving the Labour Party conference in Liverpool.
Speaking at the conference, he said: “The situation in Drumcree is tense and this Government, like every Labour government, will always go the extra mile for peace.
“That’s precisely what I’ll be doing this afternoon: bringing both sides together, talking to everyone, bridging sectarian divides and giving compromise a chance.
“Because nobody, nobody, nobody wants Northern Ireland to return to the 1990s.
“That’s not going to be easy, as the last few days have shown. It’s really easy to stir up a grievance, much harder to calm it down.
“Which is why I appeal to everyone: believe in Northern Ireland and double down on compromise.”
Mr Bryant also said he would not be staying at the conference to hear Andy Burnham’s speech on Tuesday afternoon and would instead be returning to Northern Ireland.
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Ms McEntee said she thought the appointment of an outside mediator would be a welcome move.
She said: “It’s very clear that this has been very difficult for all communities in Northern Ireland. It’s been a very difficult few days for the residents on the Garvaghy Road and it has been difficult for all political parties.
“I want to acknowledge and commend the restraint that has been shown, and to call for continued calm. It’s really important that people engage, as that is the only way we will find a solution through this.
“I expect today that there will be further engagement with the community. I expect there will be further engagement with the Orange Order.
“I hope to see a process put in place that will allow people the time and space.
“People have been up late at night. It has been a very challenging time, particularly for the community, and it is really important that this is resolved through dialogue, but also it’s really important that people in the community do not have a march forced on them, where very clearly this is not something that people want.”
Alastair Power, the Orange Order’s deputy district master in Portadown, is among a small group of lodge members who have remained at Drumcree Church.
He said: “We are still at the stalemate from eight o’clock on Sunday morning.
“The police are still giving us an assessment that they cannot police us safely down the Garvaghy Road.
“We have left it with them that we are here and waiting until they can give us safe passage to complete our 1998 parade, which was given to us by the Parades Commission with 35 Orangemen, under really restrictive conditions from the Parades Commission, but we accepted that and we wish to bring our banner back home.”
Mr Power said Sir Chris had not indicated what the further talks would be about.
He said: “Let’s see what’s on the table and hopefully everybody can come and get this done, and resolved for everyone.” Mr Power said: “The position of the district remains that we still have a live document, the 11/1, which is the parade from the 27th September to bring this district down along its traditional route, via the Garvaghy Road, to complete its parade in Carleton Street.
“That is the position. We have asked the police when they can take that road and bring us down the road safely; we will be here to do that.”
Meanwhile, the ongoing row is expected to feature again during exchanges at Stormont on Tuesday.
Northern Ireland’s first minister Michelle O’Neill was accused by the Stormont speaker Edwin Poots on Monday of showing “gross contempt” to the Stormont Assembly after she refused to answer an urgent question on her participation in an unlawful protest against the controversial parade.
Returning to the issue at the start of Assembly business on Tuesday, Mr Poots said he had corresponded with the Executive Office about the relisting of the question.
The urgent oral question is currently scheduled for 2.45pm on Tuesday.
Ms O’Neill and other senior Sinn Féin colleagues were among a large crowd that blockaded the road in the predominantly nationalist area of Portadown on Sunday to prevent the contentious Orange Order parade from passing along the route.
Under parading laws in Northern Ireland, protests must be notified to, and approved by, the Parades Commission adjudication body.
Police confirmed on Monday that the protest was unlawful as the commission had not been notified about it.
Orangemen have attempted to begin their parade on a number of occasions, but police have halted them.
The PSNI has defended its approach, and assistant chief constable Ryan Henderson said the use of force to move protesters off the Garvaghy Road risked people getting “seriously hurt”.
The Drumcree parading dispute, which was associated with violent disorder during the Troubles, has been reignited after the Parades Commission granted permission for a limited parade down the Garvaghy Road for the first time in almost 30 years.
At the height of the blockade on Sunday, more than 1,000 people congregated on the road to prevent the parade from Drumcree Church from passing along the route.
A ruling by the Parades Commission permitting the Orange Order march from Drumcree Church and along the Garvaghy Road was upheld in an “unprecedented” late-night sitting of the High Court in Belfast in the early hours of Sunday.
The Drumcree parade down the Garvaghy Road has been banned since 1998.
The stand-off in the late 1990s led to violent clashes for several summers and political tension necessitated major security operations.
The Orange Order has unsuccessfully applied for more than a quarter of a century to complete its 1998 walk along its traditional route.
On Friday, the commission reversed its long-running determination and granted permission for the parade – a decision welcomed by unionist parties and met with outrage from nationalist and republican parties.
Permission was granted for a parade subject to strict restrictions, including a limit of 35 participants and an 8am start time.
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