29 July 1999 Edition
Tensions rise in Kilkeel
By Roisin Cox
The nationalist residents' group, Mourne Nationalists For Equality, has expressed concerns that a planned 14 August loyalist parade in Kilkeel and an open air service in the town the next day, coinciding with the traditional AOH parade in the town and the anniversary of the Omagh bombing, has the potential to erupt into violence.
Kilkeel loyalists are planning to stage a parade through the town centre on 14 August, inviting up to 20 bands from areas such as Portadown, Derry, Newtownbutler, Ballynafeigh and the Ormeau Road to take part. These represent areas where contentious Orange Parades have been blocked by residents' committees. The loyalist organisers claim the parade is a legitimate protest against the rerouting of parades throughout the North. The planned open air service is, according to the organisers, a memorial for ``all the victims of republican violence''. Local sources have told An Phoblacht that the main speaker at the planned service will be DUP leader Ian Paisley.
Residents' spokesperson Martin Connolly said: ``Feelings are already running high at the moment and the nationalist community sees this as an attempt to hype things up further. We think this situation is a time bomb waiting to explode and the way things are going there is the potential for another Drumcree-style standoff.''
It now appears that loyalists are doing everything in their power to raise tension in the town, which has already seen the disintegration of community relations in recent weeks. Even an Ulster Unionist Councillor, Henry Reilly, has condemned the open air rally, branding it ``a recipe for disaster''. He said: ``In recent weeks nationalist groups are withdrawing from hardline positions but this will cause even more problems''.
Speaking to An Phoblacht, Sinn Féin Assembly member for South Down Mick Murphy said that the ``whole thing smacks of an exercise in sectarianism. The so-called Long March was hyped as a memorial to the `victims' but in effect put more value on Protestant dead. This so-called memorial service for the `victims of republican violence' demonstrates the narrow-mindedness of the organisers and exposes their sectarian agenda.''
The nationalist residents' group, Mourne Nationalists For Equality, has expressed concerns that a planned 14 August loyalist parade in Kilkeel and an open air service in the town the next day, coinciding with the traditional AOH parade in the town and the anniversary of the Omagh bombing, has the potential to erupt into violence.
Kilkeel loyalists are planning to stage a parade through the town centre on 14 August, inviting up to 20 bands from areas such as Portadown, Derry, Newtownbutler, Ballynafeigh and the Ormeau Road to take part. These represent areas where contentious Orange Parades have been blocked by residents' committees. The loyalist organisers claim the parade is a legitimate protest against the rerouting of parades throughout the North. The planned open air service is, according to the organisers, a memorial for ``all the victims of republican violence''. Local sources have told An Phoblacht that the main speaker at the planned service will be DUP leader Ian Paisley.
Residents' spokesperson Martin Connolly said: ``Feelings are already running high at the moment and the nationalist community sees this as an attempt to hype things up further. We think this situation is a time bomb waiting to explode and the way things are going there is the potential for another Drumcree-style standoff.''
It now appears that loyalists are doing everything in their power to raise tension in the town, which has already seen the disintegration of community relations in recent weeks. Even an Ulster Unionist Councillor, Henry Reilly, has condemned the open air rally, branding it ``a recipe for disaster''. He said: ``In recent weeks nationalist groups are withdrawing from hardline positions but this will cause even more problems''.
Speaking to An Phoblacht, Sinn Féin Assembly member for South Down Mick Murphy said that the ``whole thing smacks of an exercise in sectarianism. The so-called Long March was hyped as a memorial to the `victims' but in effect put more value on Protestant dead. This so-called memorial service for the `victims of republican violence' demonstrates the narrow-mindedness of the organisers and exposes their sectarian agenda.''