The Five Demands

Parades chief: Unionists have confidence in us (News Letter)

THE head of the Parades Commission has insisted that his organisation retains unionist confidence, despite a summer where almost every unionist politician in Belfast has been savagely critical of its decisions.

Peter Osborne even claimed that some senior unionist politicians had privately praised the commission’s work over the summer.

The former Alliance councillor, who before joining the commission had sat on the boards of numerous quangos and set up a consultancy firm, admitted that there had been “some challenges, particularly around north Belfast”.

However, speaking to the News Letter in his office in Windsor House, the parades supremo insists that “if you look around other parts of Northern Ireland, the summer has gone extremely well”.

He takes heart from “the better atmosphere over the last few weeks” based on “the significant leadership shown by parade organisers, residents and political representatives”.

He hopes that over the winter and spring politicians, parade organisers, residents and others can reach an agreement on contentious marches “which would mean that we would not have to take a decision if agreement is reached”.

In an apparent attempt to shift the focus for resolving parading disputes onto local politicians, Mr Osborne says: “I was very encouraged over the summer when a lot of the politicians in the media were saying that they were going to talk about those issues to try to find agreement on Ardoyne and elsewhere . . . it is critically important that those political leaders – the MP, the MLAs, along with the parade organisers and residents do try to resolve the contentious parades over the next six or eight months.

“I actually think that is where resolution will happen. If they are committing, as they seem to be, to having that dialogue to find agreement, I think we’ll support that in whatever way we can, wish them the very best of luck with it because at the end of the day if they can reach agreement that means we don’t have to take a decision, I think that’s the best outcome.”

Given that in past years there has not been agreement, it would seem unlikely that with relations strained in north Belfast there will be a sudden agreement between the loyal orders and republicans.

“Clearly there has been a deterioration of community relations [in north Belfast], there are tensions there, but at the same time we have heard the Orange Order saying they’ve changed their policy in terms of talking to residents, I think they’ve created an expectation that they will engage with the residents at Carrick Hill.

“I think that once that expectation is created with no inhibitor or barrier to that dialogue taking place it is really important that it does take place.

“I think we saw political leadership on both sides of the community saying that it should take place. So if you can get all that combined . . . I think that does provide the foundation for agreement. But those are the key stakeholders who are critical if agreement is going to be reached.

“Now we’ll help them if we can but there is something hugely important about those local leaders taking responsibility and ownership of this issue and the resolution of the issues.”

He says that the Commission is “absolutely” giving both sides a fair hearing and dismisses the suggestion that most unionists have lost confidence in the commission as a fair arbitrator.

Mr Osborne insists that despite the repeated attacks on the commission by unionist leaders, the loyal orders and bands there is unionist confidence in its determinations.

Does that claim not demonstrate that he and the commission are detached from reality after a summer where both publicly and privately unionists have been scathing about the commission?

“Certainly I’ve had positive feedback from a number of unionist politicians from the two parties . . . including senior figures within both parties.

“At the end of the day, if politicians or anyone else don’t like the decisions that the Parades Commission takes, it is their job to try to find local agreement in their area.

“The people who will find agreement are the politicians, the parade organisers and the residents together. So if somebody doesn’t like a decision that we take . . . then they need to work locally to try to find a different answer and an agreement.”

Although he does not name the YCV band who played a sectarian song outside St Patrick’s Church on Donegall Street on the Tweflth, Mr Osborne clearly blames their actions for the trouble which followed at that spot.

“In terms of the letter [signed by unionists, including Peter Robinson, attacking the commission], it’s very important to remember where the tension this year started and where the responsibility for that tension rests.

“I think there have been some unfortunate things happen over the summer. It [Carrick Hill] is not an area that has been particularly on the commission’s radar until the Twelfth of July and after.

“Now, if anybody thinks the commission wants to engage in an area and wants to start issuing determinations, then they’re very much mistaken . . . so rather than criticise the commission, I think people need to take ownership and responsibility for the issue of parades and behaviour around parades as well.”

In the days before the YCV band’s actions on the Twelfth, there was increasing anger within Belfast unionism at the commission’s determination about the return Orange parade past the Ardoyne shops, stating that the parade must return by 4pm, despite the fact that it was impossible to do so as the main parade only arrived at the field in south Belfast around 3pm.

Does he accept in any way that the determination at Ardoyne was wrong?

“I’m not sure that was a determination that sparked real anger,” he says, pointing out that there has been violence at that point for many years, despite several different determinations.

“If anyone on the unionist side doesn’t like the early return, if anyone on the nationalist side doesn’t like the early return, then we’re going to be taking a decision on the parade in 2013 in June next year – that’s eight months away – so there is an onus on those local politicians, the MP, the MLAs, the parade organiser and the residents, if they don’t like that decision, to try to find an agreement themselves.

“If we don’t have to take a decision next year, then we will be the happiest people around, but if there’s no agreement next year then we will take a decision.”

Many unionists view the 4pm deadline – which effectively ruined the local Orangemen’s day, forcing them to leave the field early to meet the deadline – as effectively a reward for the violence from republicans in past years, despite the fact that Orangemen largely abided by previous determinations.

The commission further angered unionists by allowing a dissident republican counter march where there had never been a history of parading at that point or on that date.

“I don’t think anybody was rewarded. People need to look at the reality of that – the commission certainly didn’t reward anybody for violence,” he insists.

“I suspect anybody who was parading or was involved in that day from either side of the community would also have issue with that sort of terminology as well . . . it was in the context of no agreement being reached after a huge amount of effort to get an agreement by us along with the two parties that were involved.”

Surely from the view of local dissident republicans there is absolutely no incentive to engage in dialogue before next year’s parade because after years of creating trouble they have succeeded in having the parade curtailed?

“Well, I don’t think they’ve got what they wanted – that’s an issue that you need to ask them. I certainly would condemn any violence that happens in relation to any parade or any issue.

“One stone thrown is one too many. It shouldn’t happen . . . the fact is that there are significant community relations issues there; there are tensions that exist, there are a number of issues that the commission then has to deal with when it comes to four separate notifications for four events at the same time within a very volatile environment.”

He declines to say whether the commission will again force the Orange Order to return past Ardoyne shops in mid afternoon.