Senior Portadown Orangemen today joined the Grand Orange
Lodge of Ireland in condemning unreservedly the violence that
broke out following Sunday’s Annual Church Parade at
Drumcree.
David Burrows, Deputy Master of Portadown District L.O.L.
No. 1 said, “We are devastated by what happened on Sunday.
The violence has completely undermined the efforts District
Officers have been making throughout the year to try and bring
about a peaceful solution to the dispute and a full restoration
of our civil liberties.
“We must focus now on learning lessons from Sunday’s
parade and I, along with other Portadown Officers and Marshals
will be closely examining the events to establish the facts.
We will also co-operate fully with the investigation that
has been launched by Grand Lodge”.
Mr Burrows continued: “The best way to ensure that this
never happens again is for all parties to work to find a solution.
That’s what we intend to do, and we call on the Garvaghy
Road Residents Coalition to show an equal degree of sincerity
and determination to resolve the problem”.
Portadown District Officers raised their concerns with the
police about the level of security on three separate occasions
before Sunday’s parade. Once again the PSNI has completed
its current criminal investigation, Mr Burrows said he would
be seeking a formal meeting to discuss precisely why Sunday’s
violent scenes were able to develop.
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