Orange Order says it had ‘very positive and constructive meeting’ with NI Secretary Bryant
- The standoff in Portadown has entered a third day despite efforts by Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Bryant to mediate a solution yesterday.
- It follows the blocking of a contentious Orange Order parade from proceeding along Garvaghy Road on Sunday.
- The Garvaghy Road Residents Coalition has lodged a legal challenge to a ruling which found the Orange Order Drumcree parade could proceed at the weekend.
- The Orange Order has made a criminal complaint against First Minister Michelle O’Neill and Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald over their participation in the protests.
- O’Neill says she has not been contacted by the PSNI over her attendance at the unlawful protest.
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The meeting of the Garvaghy Road residents has concluded, reports Mark Hennessy from the scene.
Shortly after 8 pm, Breandán Mac Cionnaith and other residents’ leaders briefed hundreds of locals in the pastoral centre next to St John the Baptist’s Church on Garvaghy Road about the meeting held in Hillsborough with the Northern Ireland Secretary of State, Chris Bryant, following the latter’s return from the Labour Party conference in Manchester.
Mac Cionnaith said Chief Constable of Northern Ireland Jon Boutcher must meet with Garvaghy Road residents to explain how the force could have told the Parades Commission that an Orange Order march could take place from Drumcree Church without the risk of serious public disorder.
“Their voices need to be heard by the British government – and not only heard, but listened to. So that was made very clear to the Secretary of State. We also said that a march along Garvaghy Road in any shape, any form, would not be acceptable to this community.”
Demanding a meeting with Boutcher, he said: “The only person still left for us to meet, if he has the courage to meet us, is the PSNI chief constable.
“So, I’ll be waiting tonight and tomorrow morning for the chief constable to let me know when he is going to meet with us, or is he going to hide behind a wall of uniforms of police in riot gear? It’s up to him.”
He said Boutcher needs to be able to explain how the PSNI’s security briefing to the Parades Commission could have led to the commission clearing the way for the Orange parade.
“I’m sure the chief constable knows the questions that’s going to be posed to him,” he said. “Have the courage and come and meet with us.”
Earlier in the week, Mac Coinnaith demanded the appointment of an international mediator, though he sounded significantly less enthusiastic about this point when he spoke to journalists on Tuesday evening.
Rejecting suggestions that he was backtracking, he said: “No, I say why should we [get involved in mediation]? It’s up to others to prove why we should.
“We’re very clear, and don’t try to misinterpret anything I’m saying, and don’t try to publish wrongful information about what’s going on. We’re asking the questions. Nobody’s giving us the answers.”
Questioned about the residents’ group decision to launch a court challenge to seek sight of the PSNI’s security advice to the Commission, he said: “I think it’s quite obvious what we want to achieve through that legal action.
“So that’s another process has been put into play here. The Orange Order and Jamie Bryson aren’t the only ones that can take legal action. We’ll leave that to the courts to decide.
“But, as I said, our main priority now is to see if the chief constable will meet us and let us know what his views are, because he also has some questions to address, especially about his so-called security assessment that led us to be put in this position.”
He finished by insisting residents will stay on watch “until we get a decision”.