Orangemen mark 5,000 days of protest
Portadown Orange Lodge has handed over a protest at the ruling which prohibits them from walking down the Garvaghy Road as orangemen gathered to protest for the 5000th time.
Members of the Orange Order have been banned from marching down the Garvaghy Road since 1998 following a decision by the Parades Commission.
On Sunday Orangemen walked outside Drumcree Parish Church, accompanied by a band, and lodged a protest at police lines at the bottom of Drumcree Hill.
They have done so every Sunday for more than 13 years after they were prohibited from taking what they say is their traditional route, following widespread violence during the annual parade which takes place on the first Sunday of July.
As the parade processed from the church, it was met by police.
Orange Order spokesman Davy Jones told a police officer the Parades Commission decision was “discriminatory” and called for Secretary of State Owen Paterson to settle the issue of the march.
“We would also ask the First Minister and deputy First Minister to become involved to get this matter resolved, because while they might enjoy attending Gaelic matches and football matches, the real problem with regards to equality in this country is along the Garvaghy Road.
“Don’t be under any illusion,” he said, “we will parade the Garvaghy Road.”
His speech was ended by shouts of “hear hear” from the Orangemen behind him.
Sections of the contentious route, which has been used since 1807, would see the Lodge marching through mainly Catholic, nationalist areas of Portadown.
Riots surrounded the parade during the late 1990s as the Garvaghy Road Residents’ Coalition and the Orange Lodge clashed over the route of the march to and from Drumcree Church.
