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Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland
  Press Statements

Orange Order attacks gross incompetence of PSNI

26 June 2002

The Orange Order has accused senior PSNI Officers of gross incompetence over their failure to protect lawful Orange Parades in the face of orchestrated attacks from nationalists.

A spokesman said : “Second-rate policing has made Orangemen second-class citizens when it comes to security”.

Senior Orangemen today met the PSNI to protest at attacks on the “Tour of the North” Orange Parade last week and on last night’s Carnmoney District Parade. The incidents have also been reported to the Police Ombudsman and will be raised at Stormont.

In last night’s incident, nationalists ambushed the Carnmoney Orangemen with bricks, bottles and balloons filled with urine. Those present described the PSNI reaction as “confused and hysterical” with troublemakers allowed to get as close as 20 yards to the parade.

“This was a pre-planned attack on a properly notified parade that met with all the requirements laid down by the authorities and was tightly supervised by Orange Order marshals”. “The PSNI must have known in advance of the potential for trouble but – as with last week’s Tour of the North- their response was inadequate and inept” the spokesman said.

It was stated that with a large number of Orange Parades planned across the Province in the next two weeks, the PSNI had to get a grip on the situation to avoid the risk of widespread civil disorder.

“Community tensions are high enough already. The Orange Order is determined to behave responsibly. We have voluntarily re-routed a number of parades to avoid flash points and we have told potential troublemakers from the Unionist community that they’re not welcome and to stay away. The Order has always supported the Police, but at the moment the PSNI is failing to play its part and provide proper policing”.

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