19 August 2004 Edition
Unionist threats over north Belfast ban
Senior loyalists have threatened further 'protests' following the Parades Commission ruling which banned Apprentice Boys from parading past nationalist Ardoyne last week. Apprentice Boys from the Ligoniel Walkers Club wanted to march in Ardoyne before boarding coaches to take them to the main Apprentice Boys parade in Derry.
On Saturday morning, Ligoniel Apprentice Boys staged a short protest, during which spokesperson Tommy Cheevers handed a letter of protest at the PSNI cordon before 25 club members and 30 bandsmen boarded buses to Derry.
Cheevers said he was "utterly disgusted" by the Parades Commission's decision and warned that further protests are scheduled. "We know everyone in the Protestant community feels the same hurt as we do," said Cheevers. Around 70 loyalists cheered the Apprentice Boys as their coach passed through the PSNI lines.
PUP leader Billy Hutchinson accused the PSNI of anti-unionist bias because they had refused to force the parade past a nationalist area on the grounds of public order. In a curious statement, Hutchinson complained that the PSNI had "forced nationalists up the Ardoyne Road through pipe bombs and shots being fired during the Holy Cross dispute".
"This community is coming to the conclusion that the only way to get your own way is to behave badly," said Hutchinson.
Perhaps Hutchinson should consider the possibility that nationalist antipathy towards unionist parades in North Belfast might in part stem from the experience of violent sectarian attacks by unionist mobs against the Catholic school children, some as young as four years of age, of Holy Cross.
Dialogue rather than "behaving badly" could have resolved the issue, said residents' spokesperson Gerard McGuigan. "The sad thing is that this entire situation could have been resolved to everyone's satisfaction if the Apprentice Boys had agreed to speak to Ardoyne residents. Despite our best efforts they refused to talk."
In Derry, the parade passed without serious incident, with around 15,000 Apprentice Boys and over 100 bands marching through the city. Provocative sectarian behaviour by some band members failed to spark any serious reaction from the nationalist community.
The Apprentice Boys have said that they will be taking disciplinary action against any band members prosecuted for public order offences during the Derry parade. It is believed that some of the sectarian behaviour was captured on security cameras.
Sinn Féin MLA Raymond McCartney praised the discipline displayed by the youth of Derry during the parade. "I monitored the march along with a number of my colleagues and I have to say that despite some band members acting in a provocative manner, refusing to abide by the instruction not to play at specific times and the flagrant display of unionist paramilitary flags, the youth of Derry acted in an exemplary manner," he said.