Sit-down protests at Ardoyne ‘illegal’
Any sit-down road protest at the scene of a disputed Orange Order march in north Belfast breached a Parades Commission determination, a court heard yesterday.
Ronnie Pedlow, then secretary of the body which rules on contentious processions, insisted that objectors at Ardoyne were restricted to footpaths.
He was giving evidence as prosecutors opened their case against 26 people charged with obstructing lawful activity in a public place during a Twelfth of July march in 2010.
The charges are being defended on the basis that residents and campaigners were involved in a peaceful sit-down protest.
The court heard details of two separate bodies operating in the area, the Crumlin Ardoyne Residents’ Association (CARA) and the Greater Ardoyne Residents’ Coalition (GARC).
“To take a protest on the carriageway would be against the Commission determination,” Mr Pedlow said. The case continues.
