Post by RedFlag32 on Apr 18, 2007 22:23:21 GMT
Maeve Connolly, Irish News)
Sinn Féin has been warned not to barter away the rights of Garvaghy Road
residents by entering into a deal with the DUP to allow the Orange Order
to march along the contentious route in Portadown.
SDLP Upper Bann assembly member Dolores Kelly said nationalist residents
had a right to dialogue with Drumcree Orangemen and that it must not be
dismissed for short-term political gain.
"There is a build-up of hints, briefings and media reports that a
political deal is in the offing between Sinn Féin and the DUP to let the
Orange Order down the Garvaghy Road without entering into dialogue with
the residents," she said.
"This is just not on. Dialogue is a requirement of principle and it cannot
just be traded away in some sort of secret, backroom deal."
Ms Kelly said any deal which would offer a solution to the long-running
dispute, which had often erupted in violence in the past, had to be an
"open and transparent one involving all the people of the area in dialogue
with the marching orders".
"Every one of those people has a right to dialogue," she said.
"That is a fundamental principle that has been at the heart of the whole
Drumcree issue for more than a decade, and neither Sinn Féin nor anyone
else is entitled to barter those rights away."
The Orange Order last paraded along the mainly nationalist Garvaghy Road
in 1997 but has had route restrictions imposed by the Parades Commission
ever since.
Five hundred Orangemen and 75 bands took part in the annual Drumcree
parade last year.
However, Sinn Féin last night (Sunday) dismissed the accusation that it
was negotiating a deal with the DUP as "complete lies" and a spokesman
said while the party discussed all manner of issues with other political
parties this was one where politicians could have no influence.
"This is not an issue that can be resolved by political parties," he said.
"It is an issue that only can be resolved by the people who live on the
Garvaghy Road and the Orange Order just as it is in Ardoyne or anywhere
else.
"It is between the Orange Order and the community they wish to march
through."
April 17, 2007
Sinn Féin has been warned not to barter away the rights of Garvaghy Road
residents by entering into a deal with the DUP to allow the Orange Order
to march along the contentious route in Portadown.
SDLP Upper Bann assembly member Dolores Kelly said nationalist residents
had a right to dialogue with Drumcree Orangemen and that it must not be
dismissed for short-term political gain.
"There is a build-up of hints, briefings and media reports that a
political deal is in the offing between Sinn Féin and the DUP to let the
Orange Order down the Garvaghy Road without entering into dialogue with
the residents," she said.
"This is just not on. Dialogue is a requirement of principle and it cannot
just be traded away in some sort of secret, backroom deal."
Ms Kelly said any deal which would offer a solution to the long-running
dispute, which had often erupted in violence in the past, had to be an
"open and transparent one involving all the people of the area in dialogue
with the marching orders".
"Every one of those people has a right to dialogue," she said.
"That is a fundamental principle that has been at the heart of the whole
Drumcree issue for more than a decade, and neither Sinn Féin nor anyone
else is entitled to barter those rights away."
The Orange Order last paraded along the mainly nationalist Garvaghy Road
in 1997 but has had route restrictions imposed by the Parades Commission
ever since.
Five hundred Orangemen and 75 bands took part in the annual Drumcree
parade last year.
However, Sinn Féin last night (Sunday) dismissed the accusation that it
was negotiating a deal with the DUP as "complete lies" and a spokesman
said while the party discussed all manner of issues with other political
parties this was one where politicians could have no influence.
"This is not an issue that can be resolved by political parties," he said.
"It is an issue that only can be resolved by the people who live on the
Garvaghy Road and the Orange Order just as it is in Ardoyne or anywhere
else.
"It is between the Orange Order and the community they wish to march
through."
April 17, 2007
