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30 July 2010

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Parades legislation consultation closes

Trade union concerns can be resolved

Dialogue and engagement between local residents and the loyal orders are central to resolving controversial parades

SINN FÉIN says that the approach being offered by the parades legislation is a better way forward on the issue of contentious Orange marches.
Concerns raised by trade unions and others that the current draft legislation may unintentionally infringe on their work can and will be resolved through the next stages of the process.
A Sinn Féin spokesperson told An Phoblacht that this legislation is an attempt to find a better way forward. It is part of the outworking of the Hillsborough Agreement. It is only designed to be about the issue of loyal order parades and related protests.
Sinn Féin has met trade unions and other groups and the party is adamant that public concerns must be addressed as the Bill makes progress through the Assembly.
The spokesperson said:
“As we have seen recently, the potential for Orange Order parades through nationalist areas to cause significant trouble is significant.
“The Parades Commission’s decision to facilitate the Orange Order in marching through nationalist areas in north Belfast contributed to this.
“In our view, there is a better way to resolving contentious parades. Dialogue and engagement between local residents and the loyal orders is central to this. In some areas, a resolution to a parading issue may well be the acceptance of an alternative route.”
In its closing submission to the consultation process by the Office of First Minister and Deputy First Minister, Sinn Féin says:
“In an attempt to deal with all issues related to contentious loyal order parades, the draft Bill has embraced activities outside the remit set out for the Parades Working Group.
“This was not the intention and is not part of the Hillsborough Agreement,” Sinn Féin says.
“The inclusion of public meetings, for example, has caused concern among a wide range of groups, including trade unions.”
Sinn Féin says it will take action to address these concerns.
Sinn Féin says that, to address the concerns raised as a result of the public consultation, there must be specific exemptions for trade union related activities and the definition of “public assemblies” within the draft Bill amended to exclude and remove any reference to “public meetings”.
“Public meetings should not be affected by this legislation,” Sinn Féin insists.
Returning to the central issue of the relatively small number of contentious parades, Sinn Féin says:
“A process of mediation and dialogue must be central to any agreed outcomes and the rights of citizens to be free from all forms of harassment must be protected by the decision-making process.
“New legislation must be fully consistent with international human rights standards and new legislation must be defined within a human rights framework.”
Concluding, the Sinn Féin spokesperson said:
“We are confident that, at the end of the legislative process, if all political parties and interested groups approach this matter with a positive and constructive attitude then we will have in place a better framework for dealing with the issue of contentious Orange Order parades.”

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