In Portadown, protesters blocked an Orange Order march — Politico Europe
In Portadown, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom, hundreds of residents of the Catholic Garvaghy Road area blocked the road overnight to prevent a Sunday march by the Protestant Orange Order. The parade was due to pass through this section for the first time since 1998, when it was banned following mass violence, Politico Europe reports.
The commission’s decision and court challenges
On Friday, the Parades Commission — a body appointed by the British government — approved a substantially shortened route for the march through the Garvaghy Road area. Before this, the commission had rejected the Orange Order’s applications more than 1,300 times. The order sought to complete the procession interrupted in 1998.
On Saturday, attempts were made to challenge the decision in court. After midnight, Northern Ireland’s senior judge ruled that the courts did not have the authority to overturn the independent decision of the Parades Commission.
Opposing party positions
Several hundred police officers were deployed to the scene. Armoured police vehicles were positioned between participants in the potential march near the church on the hill and demonstrators on Garvaghy Road.
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Northern Ireland’s First Minister Michelle O’Neill, a Sinn Féin representative, supported the protesters. She said that Garvaghy Road residents deserve to live free from sectarian harassment and intimidation, and also questioned the commission’s change of position after 28 years of bans.
The Democratic Unionist Party sided with Orange Order members. Portadown MP Carla Lockhart said the court ruling was a significant victory and that the law was on the side of the march organisers. She also accused O’Neill of taking part in an illegal protest.
The role of police
UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham said he would change the Parades Commission’s decision only on the recommendation of John Boucher, the Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland, on security grounds. Northern Ireland Minister Chris Bryant called the situation primarily a policing matter and said that protesters had not received permission from the Parades Commission, making the protest illegal, in his words.
Boucher said that police had, at that point, prevented violence or disorder. Officers will collect photo and video material to identify possible offences and people who may have committed them for potential subsequent prosecution. More than 100 officers were sent from Scotland to reinforce the Police Service of Northern Ireland.
