​Drumcree parade dispute can still be settled before next anniversary: Rev Mervyn Gibson

Rev Mervyn Gibson said he still hoped a resolution could be found that would allow the local Orange lodge to complete the return leg of its annual church service parade – and that it could take place any Sunday of the year.

The Parades Commission banned the parade from the mainly nationalist Garvaghy Road in July 1998 and it has been stopped close to Drumcree Parish Church by police on every occasion since then.

There was a larger number of Orange Order members in attendance at this year’s protest event – which marked the 25th anniversary of the parade being stopped.

"We intend to keep the pressure on the Secretary of State, through our own politicians, to do something about the issue, because the Parades Commission aren't doing their job in this particular instance,” Rev Gibson told the News Letter.

The Order’s grand secretary added: "We have called on them to resign if they can't do their job. The Secretary of State has said it has nothing to do with him, so who runs the Parades Commission? He obviously appoints them, but who monitors the monitors?”

Rev Gibson said he believes the Parades Commission should be encouraging the Garvaghy Road residents to negotiate a solution with the Portadown District Orangemen.

He said the Orange Order was not seeking “a resolution that forces it down, with police batoning people off the street,” but added: "There is no pressure put on the residents to talk and that is the difference.”

Speaking on the Nolan Show earlier on Monday, Rev Gibson said he hoped that the “hurt and pain” arising from the dispute, “caused to all communities at that time” is now a thing of the past.

He said: “The actual core issue, of stopping Orangemen returning from church, along a main arterial route, is still there because the Parades Commission continues to ban it”.

Addressing the protestors on Sunday, Rev Gibson said: “The Parades Commission has a major part to play and they have failed Portadown district, they have failed Northern Ireland in so many different ways. It is time for them to go. It is time for the Secretary of State (Chris Heaton-Harris) to exercise some influence to see a resolution here.

“This shows the people of Northern Ireland and wider world that the Drumcree situation is still here, and we’re determined to support the Portadown brethren until a resolution is found.”

Responding, a NIO spokesperson said decisions around parades “are a matter for the Parades Commission” acting independently of the government.

“The Parades Commission continues to have the full support of the Government in their challenging role in relation to parades in Northern Ireland,” they said.

“Dialogue remains the best way to find a solution to local issues such as Drumcree.”

DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson has said his party rejected suggestions there was any prospect of violence connected to the Orange Order’s Drumcree protest activity.After Order members held a short protest service at the police lines on Sunday, Sir Jeffrey told RTE: “We will always work to avoid situations becoming violent, I don’t think there is any prospect of that happening in this situation.

“No-one is talking about violence in relation to Drumcree and the Orangemen yesterday had their church service, they did so respectfully, they did so peacefully, they are seeking to exercise what they believe is their democratic right to peaceful assembly.”

Addressing similar concerns around the dispute last week, a spokesperson for the Parades Commission said it “continues to encourage all parties to this parading dispute to enter into dialogue,” and added: “The Parades Commission considers all notifications in line with its procedural rules and guidelines. The Commission has no statutory powers to force parties into mediation.“In relation to the notification submitted by Portadown LOL 1 for its annual church service, the Commission concluded that restricting the route of this parade remains necessary, fair and proportionate, a decision which reflects potential impacts on community relations”.