The Orange Order has expressed its anger and disgust at the
violence following today's church parade at Drumcree.
A spokesman for the Order totally condemned the attack on
police at the barrier preventing Orangemen from walking down
the Garvaghy Road.
"Those who instigated today's violence are to be condemned.
They marred an otherwise peaceful and dignified protest. Their
actions have distracted attention away from the legitimate
attempts by Portadown Orangemen to have their civil rights
restored."
The spokesman said that, at this stage, the Order was confident
that outsiders started the trouble but If Orangemen were found
to have been involved they would face disciplinary action.
Expressing sympathy and regret to the injured police officers,
the Order's spokesman continued: "We acknowledge the
efforts made by the police to try and reduce tensions by erecting
a smaller barrier than in previous years and we are appalled
that outsiders opted to abuse this gesture. In the light of
what happened today the decision to down-scale security precautions
was clearly a mistake - something we pointed out to the police
on three separate occasions before today's parade."
|
