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Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland
  Press Statements

Crazy Parade Ruling Biggest Threat Yet To Peace

6 July 2004

The Orange Order said today that it feared the Parades Commission's decision to restrict Monday's Ballysillan feeder parade in North Belfast could pose an even bigger threat to law and order than last month's Whiterock ruling which the commission was forced to reverse at the last minute.

A spokesman for the Order described the Commission's determination to ban bandsmen and parade supporters and allow only Ballysillan Lodge members to walk past the Ardoyne shops as "absolutely crazy".

The Order believes that, as in previous years, the police will be unable to prevent republicans attacking the small group of Orangemen as they walk past the Ardoyne shops. As a result, they fear that thousands of loyalist supporters returning from the city's Twelfth celebrations could converge on the North Belfast flashpoint in a show of support for the Ballysillan Lodge.

"The Orange Order wants a calm and peaceful Twelfth but this latest decision by the Commission is tantamount to pouring petrol on an already tinder dry situation," said an Order spokesman.

"The Ballysillan determination is based on spite rather than any concern for community relations. We are reliably informed that the Commission was split on its decision over this parade but in the end, the Secretariat and other key members took the view that after their humiliating Whiterock climbdown they needed to get their own back on the Order.

"Our concern now is that the Commission's tit-for-tat tactics could get out of hand, and that instead of a handful of Orangemen allegedly giving offence, the nationalist residents of Ardoyne may find themselves face to face with thousands of loyalists determined to defend their culture and their right to walk back to their homes."

The spokesman added that senior members of the Order would be now be holding a series of meetings with the politicians and others to decide on how best to handle the consequences of the Parades Commission's ruling.

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