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Northern Ireland justice minister Naomi Long. Alamy Stock Photo
naomi long
NI justice minister appeals to Orange Order to 'do the right thing' and change Drumcree route
Naomi Long said that while the Orange Order has established via the courts that it has a right to parade down the road, “they do not need to exercise that right”.
NORTHERN IRELAND JUSTICE minister Naomi Long has appealed to the Orange Order to “do the right thing” and choose not to march down the Garvaghy Road.
The Alliance Party leader said that while the Orange Order has established via the courts that it has a legal right to parade down the road, “they do not need to exercise that right”.
Her comments come amid the ongoing dispute about the controversial Drumcree parade, which was last week green lit by the Parades Commission for the first time since 1998, but has been stalled ever since following a protest by the Garvaghy Road residents.
The coalition of residents in the largely nationalist area is opposed to the parade due to the conflict associated with it in the 1990s. A number of people were killed during the tensions, with many nationalists putting the total figure at 21.
Talks to break the deadlock were launched earlier this week, but ended without agreement again on Thursday night.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland programme, Naomi Long said the trauma and the harm of the Drumcree dispute “runs very deep” not just on Garvaghy Road, but right across Northern Ireland.
“I think people are feeling a degree of despair, a degree of incredulity that we are back here again after 20 years. People are angry, I think, that this has happened, and are frustrated that we are back in this kind of dispute,” she said.
The march was given the go-ahead after three separate legal hearings over the course of 13 hours last weekend, which ran into the early hours of the morning.
A fresh legal appeal by the residents is set to be heard in the Court of Appeal on Monday.
Long said no one is questioning that the law has to be upheld, but she appealed to the Orange Order by saying: “There is a difference between what the law permits you to do and what is wise.
They have now established that they have a right to walk on the Garvaghy Road. They do not need to exercise that right. They have established it in law.
“They can do the right thing by the entire community on the Garvaghy Road, and I believe many people who support the Orange Order, and right across Northern Ireland, and they can go back by the route that they went to Drumcree Hill, because there is another route of exactly the same length that will take them back to Carlton Street Orange Hall, over which there is no dispute.”
Long said the question that remains is ‘what is the purpose of walking down Garvaghy Road?’.
“It isn’t about getting back to Carlton Street because there is an alternative route of the same length, and I would appeal to people to be wise.
“The courts can’t rule for reconciliation… that requires people to show wisdom and courage and grace and generosity, and that’s what’s required at this point in time.”
Long said she is “despondent” that there was no breakthrough in talks on Thursday night.
Unfortunately, I suspect that those who have unpicked this wound and who have gone about trying to bring this back from the past and to drag us all back there, are not minded to make the kinds of compromise that is required.
She said she would respect the determination of the courts, “but I will respect even more those people who have the courage to do the right thing and not simply exercise their own rights”.
Long was asked if she had questioned PSNI chief constable Jon Boutcher on how the force concluded the parade would pass off peacefully.
She explained that the police worked through a number of scenarios as to what may occur, depending on whether the parade got permission with restrictions, permission without restrictions, or no permission at all.
“They worked through those different scenarios and explained the policing response in each of those, and what they said was that they had no evidence at that point in time that any violence was being planned,” she said.
“However, they had also made arrangements for mutual aid. So I think some of the communication of what was said by the police to the Parades Commission has been somewhat partial in terms of what has been released.”
She confirmed she had spoken to Boutcher but not what was said, adding that the Parades Commission was created so the PSNI would not be the people who determined whether or not marches would go ahead.
She also called for talks between the Orange Order, the Garvaghy Road residents and Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Bryant to continue.
“I always think that it is better to be talking than to have a stand-off, so I would still encourage both sides to engage with any mediation process that can be put in place,” she said.
“As I say, it’s depressing that the one to date has not been able to deliver, but I do hope that that is not the end of the line.”
She said reflection about “what is at stake here” is needed.
“I think that the Orange Order have an opportunity here to be able to show some generosity, and I would again call on them to do it. But it is not going to be easy to fix because when the genie is out of the bottle, it is very difficult to put back in.”
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