Portadown Orangemen say “lessons must be learned”

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.