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The Orange Order today accused the Parades Commission of
an act of sheer madness that could threaten law and order
and raise community tensions in Belfast.
The Order described the Commission's decision to ban a traditional
Orange parade along the Springfield Road this weekend as "a
deeply offensive and grossly misguided slur on the unionist
community that represents a major setback for the peace process."
Announcing its decision to request a review of the Commission's
determination on Saturday's Whiterock Parade, a spokesman
for the Order said:
"By general agreement the summer parades of the last
couple of years were among the most peaceful in recent times.
Now, just as politicians and other establishment figures are
queuing up to call for calm again this year, the Parades Commission
wades in with an act of bureaucratic hooliganism they know
will only inflame the situation and make things far worse."
In seeking to appease a handful of politically motivated
republican residents by banning Orangemen from the Springfield
Road, said the Order's spokesman, Sir Tony Holland and his
fellow commissioners had insulted thousands of people and
reinforced the view that unionists are second-class citizens
whose culture and traditions count for nothing.
"It is high time that the Parades Commission - who have
no mandate for their actions because nobody elected them -
told the people of Northern Ireland how banning unionists
from certain roads so they can be classified as 'republican
only' will help to build confidence in the peace process."
The spokesman added that the Order would be consulting widely
with unionist politicians and others over the next few days
in order to formulate a strong formal response to the Whiterock
parade restrictions.
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