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Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland
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Orange Order Calls On Chief Constable To Come Clean Over Legal Advice On Parades

17 June 2005

The Orange Order today called on Chief Constable Sir Hugh Orde to respond to claims that he has received legal advice stating that official parade notification forms listing an Orange Lodge as organisers are within the law.

The Orange Order's Grand Master Robert Saulters said: "We are reliably informed that the Chief Constable has been sitting on legal advice for several weeks which says that the way Orangemen in East Belfast and elsewhere have been completing the Parades Commission's 11/1 forms is not illegal.

"If that is the case, it begs the question as to why only this week the PSNI have questioned Orangemen, including myself, under formal caution about their participation in allegedly illegal parades with a view to reporting them for prosecution," said Mr. Saulters.

"It's time Sir Hugh came clean on the legal advice he has received and put an end to the confusion surrounding parade notification procedures. It's clear from the comments made by Security Minister Shaun Woodward in the House of Commons this week that the Government is beginning to realise that they may have got it wrong about the fact that Orange Order parades are organised by lodges and not individuals.

"It's bad enough that the human rights of the Protestant people of Northern Ireland continue to be trampled on by the Parades Commission, but to discover that recent police harassment of Orangemen may have no basis in law is absolutely outrageous."

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