THE issue of Orange Order parades is arguably the final piece of the jigsaw that has been the Northern Ireland peace process.
Of the 3,000 marches held across the North each year the most controversial parade remains the Drumcree/Garvaghy Road dispute in Portadown.
The dispute started in 1995 when the Orange Order attempted to march through a Nationalist section of Portadown. After a two day stand-off Nationalists agreed to allow a parade through the area on the understanding that the Order would negotiate with residents over any future parades.
However, Nationalists later accused the Order and the RUC of breaking that agreement.
In 1996 and 1997 there was a series of stand-offs between Orangemen and the RUC and British Army on Drumcree Hill. On each occasion Orangemen were eventually allowed to parade along the Garvaghy Road after Loyalists brought the North to a virtual standstill by blocking roads and closing down towns and cities.
Television images were beamed around the globe of Orangemen engaged in hand-to-hand fighting with police and soldiers at a security barrier blocking them from entering on to the Garvaghy Road.
Equally emotive and evocative were the subsequent images of police forcing Nationalist residents off the Garvaghy Road to allow Orangemen to pass. However, 1997 was the last time Orangemen would walk along Garvaghy Road.
In late 1997 the Parades Commission was established to rule on contentious marches. Since then it has banned every Drumcree parade from marching along the Garvaghy Road.
Arguably the Order’s protest on Drumcree Hill has never recovered from events on the night of July 11, 1998 when Loyalists petrol bombed the Ballymoney home of Catholic mother Christine Quinn, killing her three children Jason, 9, Mark, 10, and Richard, 11.
The image of three tiny white coffins appeared to be too much for many Orangemen to continue with the controversial protest on Drumcree Hill.
Despite repeated attempts over the last decade, there have never been face-to-face talks between the Order and Garvaghy residents.
Nationalists said they were prepared to enter into talks with the possibility that they may have to accept a resolution involving a parade along the Garvaghy Road.
However, Portadown Orangemen refused to enter into any talks process which included the prospect that they might have to accept the possibility that a march may not proceed along the Garvaghy Road.
To many outside observers the Order had buried its head in the soil on Drumcree Hill for the last 10 years, with its refusal not only not to talk to Nationalists residents but also its refusal to speak to the Parades Commission, or even accept its authority to rule on contentious marches.
However, two weeks ago the Portadown Orangemen’s “no talks” policy was dropped without warning.
Portadown District Master Darryl Hewitt appeared to have taken the media by surprise when he declared on June 21 that he would go into talks with Nationalist residents without preconditions.
“We have to accept that if we go into talks the outcome may be that there won’t be a parade,” he said. “At the same time Nationalists also have to accept that there may be a parade.”
Questioned about the reasons for the dramatic change, he said,
“Things move on. When there are new people in position there is new thinking. That is not a criticism of people who were in charge in the past but the Order has to be more pragmatic.”
Hewitt admitted that in the past the Order had created its own misconceptions.
“The image we have had is unfortunate. We have been partly, maybe even more than partly, to blame for that. “But I think the image of the Order is improving.”
Despite the Parades Commission banning this year’s Drumcree parade for another year, Portadown’s most senior Orangeman is hopeful that 11th hour talks could still see that decision overturned.
“If there was the will I believe we could resolve this in a matter of hours. “But the fact is the (Garvaghy Road Residents) coalition just wants to delay and delay and the commission has failed to recognize that yet.”
However, after more than 12 years as the voice of Garvaghy Road residents, Breandan MacCionnaith remains cautious about the prospects of any final solution to the parades’ issue.
MacCionnaith has been a hate figure for Orangemen for more than a decade. He will be the man Hewitt will come face-to-face with, if and when, direct dialogue takes place.
Ironically the Garvaghy Road spokesman believes it is the new found professional public relations efforts of Portadown Orangemen which is to blame for increased tensions this year.
“The Orange Order has employed a new public relations machine this year to get its message into the media,” he said.
“That has led to increased confusion among the two communities because of the various misleading stories they leaked to the press. From their point of view these stories might have been positive, but from our point of view all they have done is raise fears in one community and heightened hopes in the other.
“I personally don’t see that as a good way to conduct negotiations.”
The 49-year-old welcomed the Parades Com-mission decision to ban this Sunday’s Drumcree parade.
“This may be the 200th anniversary for the Orange Order at Drumcree but it is the 10th anniversary of 1,500 RUC men and 1,000 British soldiers laying siege to the Garvaghy Road in 1997.
“People were put under virtual house arrest during those dark days.
“When the RUC and British army blocked people from going to local
church the priests had to come out and say mass on the road.
“This community suffered daily intimidation for years. Catholics were attacked when they tried to shop in Portadown. Catholic shops in the town center were burned down in broad day light and the RUC did nothing about it.
“The Orange Order can not absolve themselves from what happened in their name.”
Questioned as to whether he believed that face-to-face talks could now take place after more than 12 years of failed initiatives, he says, “From day one we have said that we are prepared to go into direct dialogue without preconditions.
“It was the Orange Order who refused to talk. We will wait to see if they are serious this time. “It is still far from clear whether they really will talk without preconditions or whether this is just another tactical maneuver on their part.”
Meanwhile, new British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has named Shaun Woodward as the new Northern Ireland secretary, replacing Peter Hain, who now assumes the work and pensions ministry.
Woodward previously worked in the Northern Ireland Office as a security minister.
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