The Five Demands

McGuinness sostiene che la controversia sulla parata di Garvaghy Road potrebbe essere risolta con la rinuncia dell’Orange Order di marciare

Martin McGuinness, vice primo ministro dell’irlanda del Nord, si è detto convinto che non sarebbe troppo aspettarsi che l’Orange Order acconsentire alle richieste dei residenti di non camminare a Garvaghy Road.
Il suo commento arriva dopo quello rilasciato da Nelson McCausland (DUP), Ministro della Cultura in Irlanda del Nord, che ha accusato i residenti della zona di ‘apartheid culturale’, “stanno cercando di rivendicare la proprietà delle strade particolari e dire ‘non si può andare lì senza il nostro consenso’ “.
Nel 1998 agli orangisti era stato vietato di marciare lungo quella strada nella loro marcia annuale dalla chiesa di Drumcree.
Brendan MacCionnaith, portavoce per i residenti della Garvaghy Road Residents Coalition, ha detto che gli orangisti potrebbero adottare lo stesso percorso per tornare alla chiesa, come quello che percorrono per arrivarci e sostiene che se ci fosse stato dialogo, “tutte le opzioni avrebbero potuto essere messe sul tavolo”.
“Il diritto alla libertà di riunione non equivale ad un diritto assoluto di marcia”, ha aggiunto.
Nel frattempo il SDLP continua ad esprimere le proprie perplessità circa il gruppo di lavoro nato con l’accordo di Hillsborough Castle, con il compito di tentare di risolvere le controversie relative al tema scottante delle parate.
“Vogliamo vedere più Parades Commission, non meno Parades Commission”, ha sostenuto Dolores Kelly.

Order ‘should give up Garvaghy’ (BBC News Northern Ireland)
The Garvaghy Road dispute can be resolved by the Orange Order never marching there again, the Deputy First Minister has said.
Martin McGuinness said he believed it was “not too much to ask” to expect that the Orange Order acquiesce to resident demands not to walk there.
He was speaking after DUP MLA Nelson McCausland accused Garvaghy Road residents of “cultural apartheid”.
He said they were guilty of attempting to take ownership of certain roads.
Orangemen have been banned from walking down the road during their annual march from Drumcree church since 1998.
Following the Hillsborough Agreement, the DUP and Sinn Fein have set up a six-strong group – three each from their respective parties – to try to agree a framework for dealing with parades.
The group, which is completing its first week of discussions, is due to meet with the SDLP on Friday.
Mr McGuinness said that the unionist community and Orange Order should “make a gesture” to residents of the road by declining to walk down it.
He added: “I think it is not too much to ask given the trouble we have seen on the Garvaghy Road.”
But Mr McCausland said residents “were trying to claim ownership of particular roads and say “you cannot go there without our consent”.
“There is no other way to describe that but cultural apartheid,” he said.
Speaking before the meeting the parades working group, SDLP MLA Dolores Kelly said that her party had been “steadfast” in wanting to see the Garvaghy dispute resolved through “local agreement”.
She said the SDLP delegation would be telling the group that its framework should mean the retention of the Parades Commission.
“We want to see the Parades Commission plus, not the Parades Commission minus,” she added.
Constructive
Brendan MacCionnaith, spokesperson for the Garvaghy Road Residents Coalition, said that Orangemen could take the same route back from the church as the one they take to get there.
He said that if there was going to be dialogue “then all the options had to be on the table”.
“The right to freedom of assembly does not equate to an absolute right to march,” he said.
Mr McCausland, Northern Ireland’s culture minister, was speaking after a DUP delegation met the Parades Commission, which rules on contentious parades, on Thursday.
In a statement the commission described the meeting as “a positive and useful exchange”.
“We urge everyone in a position of influence to promote and encourage dialogue in Portadown and wherever parades are disputed,” it said in a statement.
“The commission hopes that all parties in Drumcree will see the merit of dialogue and agree that it is the best way forward.”
The last time Orangemen paraded along the Garvaghy Road was in 1997.