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Statements - The Grand Master Speaks
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It's his birthday, he has the day off work, and a family
celebration is planned for the evening. Yet Robert Saulters,
Grand Master of the Orange Order, has worries on his mind.
Worries about the prospect of another summer of confrontation;
about David Trimble's commitment to the No Guns, No Government
policy to which his instititution subscribes; about the decisions
which quenched the enthusiasm of many members for engaging
in talks with the new-look Parades Commission.
But as we sip tea from china cups in the headquarters of
the Grand Lodge of Ireland on Belfast's busy Dublin Road,
it is another event, in the early hours of Sunday, July 12,
1998, which is uppermost in his thoughts.
With protests by Orange supporters in Portadown spiralling
out of control, three young brothers, Richard, Jason and Mark
Quinn, were burned to death in their beds when a petrol bomb
was hurled through a window of their Ballymoney home.
The finger was immediately pointed at the Orange Order. Chief
Constable Ronnie Flanagan linked the tragedy with the Orange
protests, which had resulted in his officers coming under
fierce attack by life-threatening missiles and even gunfire
at Drumcree.
Politicians on all sides queued up to condemn the Order.
The media threw caution to the wind. Based on what they heard
and read, Orangemen around the country called off protests
in support of Drumcree, most notably outside Hillsborough
Castle, the residence of the then Secretary of State, Mo.
Mowlam.
A leading Orange Order chaplain, Rev. William Bingham, was
moved to suggest the the entire Drumcree protest should be
called off. "This can't be worth the lives of three little
boys," he said.
When Orangemen walked along the Lower Ormeau Road the following
morning, they were confronted by residents waving copies of
the front page of the News Letter, which carried a picture
of the three boys and underneath it the heading, The Price.
The only other words on the page quoted the Chief Constable.
"This is not protest. This is not principle. This is
not statistics. It is three wee boys burned to death in their
beds."
Later in the day, when Grand Lodge leaders returned to Dublin
Road from their Twelfth celebrations, they were heckled by
people on the street. Grand Secretary John McCrea, mistaken
for Mr. Saulters, was physically and verbally abused by members
of the media, some of whom had been despatched from England
to cover the story.
At that time Bobby Saulters was on the phone in a first-floor
office, and he was being told, not for the first time that
day, that the Ballymoney tragedy had nothing to do with Drumcree.
When the full details of the tragedy emerged in a harrowing
court case, he became convinced that what he had been told
was right.
"With the notable exception of the News Letter, no-one
has apologised for their part in creating an impression which
led to us taking all the blame for the horrible deaths of
those three wee lads, and that hurts," he said.
He wonders if this is because people would prefer to believe
it was the Orange Order's fault, or merely because they aren't
big enough to admit a mistake.
We are talking two days after an important meeting of Grand
Lodge at which, despite all their problems, the deaths of
the three Quinn boys dominated discussions.
"That took up much more of our time than any talk about
meeting the Parades Commission," he reveals. "The
Ballymoney brethren are still very hurt by the whole business
- we all are.
"Following the court case we thought the Chief Constable
might have had something to say because the impression he
created from the early hours of the morning set the tone for
the day.
"The clear impression given was that Orangemen or our
supporters were responsible, and it was all because of Drumcree.
The court case showed this not to be true. It shouldn't be
hard for those who gave a wrong impression to say sorry.
"Because of what we heard from reliable people, we were
able to say at the time that the killing of the Quinn boys
was nothing to do with the Orange institution. But it was
a terrible, drastic day. People didn't want to listen.
"We met a lot of people that day who had some knowledge
of what the real situation was. We were in our headquarters
from 8am that morning until the early hours of the next morning
because we wanted to establish the truth.
"It doesn't make it any less of a tragedy, but things
were said which shouldn't have been. It's time that was acknowledged."
It is perhaps because he detects that patience in the Orange
ranks is wearing thin, and sees no sign of movement on the
Garvaghy Road, that Mr. Saulters is so vexed by an unwillingness
to set the record straight.
That year, and last, the Orange Order walked away from further
confrontations.
"It will be harder to achieve that this year. Brethren
see that no amount of talking, no amount of what some would
call backing down, has made any difference. When we're in
the wrong we're wrong, and when we're in the right, we're
still wrong.
"People in the unionist community who see everything
going against them are losing patience. We could end up in
the middle of another serious security situation."
So does he hold out any hope that the Parades Commission
can resolve the problem?
"There was a strong view two or three weeks ago that
we should relax our stated policy of not talking to the Commission.
Things were certainly going that way. We had meetings with
lodges, districts and counties who have had trouble with parades
and some of them wanted to relax the policy because we were
anticipating new ideas, and a fresh approach.
"What we're seeing is that nothing has changed. There
are new faces but the determinations over the past few weeks
have not encouraged any change in policy. Peter Mandelson
talks about human rights, but we still don't know how far
he is prepared to go with it, or when it will be introduced.
"It's all been promises, with no action. We're keeping
an open mind on the issue. We want to look at anything which
will help the situation, but the signs aren't hopeful.
"The Kilkeel decision went beyond the pale. Hibernians
should not have been allowed to pass a church where victims
of violence were buried, particularly when a funeral was taking
place - although to their credit the band did not play."
And he is sceptical in any case about the benefits of talks.
"We don't seem to get anywhere by talking. We've had
so many meetings about Drumcree and they haven't taken us
anywhere. Even Brendan McAllister, the chairman of the Mediation
Network, can't see how talks will help this year. He has acknowledged
that residents keep moving the goalposts.
"The parades legislation has encouraged opposition from
residents' groups, which are popping up all over the place.
We don't know where the next problem is going to appear.
"There's nothing much to be hopeful about at the present
time. There's a strong feeling in the Order that when we've
made moves, there has been no reciprocation.
"Republicans don't seem to be moving on in any way -
take New Year's night, when they brought in the Millennium
in Gerry Adams's constituency with vehicle hijackings and
burnings. It doesn't augur well for the future."
He believes that while there is much talk about celebrating
diverse cultures, many nationalists and republicans behave
in a way that makes accommodation impossible.
Orange participation in St. Patrick's Day parades is a case
in point, he says. "Last year the St. Patrick's events
seemed to us more like a celebration of Irish nationalism
and republicanism than a commemoration of a shared Patron
Saint.
"We have had church services in Belfast on St. Patrick's
Day for many years but we don't feel, as things stands, that
we can participate in the public celebrations, because of
the green agenda,"he said.
Bobby Saulters says he is determined to enjoy his family
outing that night, because he's going to be a very busy man
between now and the summer.
A meeting with Peter Mandelson is planned for later this
month. The Orange Order wants to talk to him about Drumcree
and other disputed parades, but their agenda is wider than
that.
"We want to hear what he says about the offensive republican
memorials which are appearing in public places.
"We want to talk about Harland and Wolff, and the plight
of the farmers. There are issues which we have a responsibility
to address, but which haven't had the attention they deserve
in Grand Lodge because of our other problems."
And yes, they want to talk to Mr. Mandelson about what happened
in Ballymoney on the night of July 12, 1998, and why the name
of his institution has been blackened, deliberately or otherwise,
by people who, he says, ought to have known better.
Article published in the News Letter, 22 March 2000, interview
by Geoff Martin, Editor.
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