Two deals discussed before Drumcree parade ban, says Bryant

Image source, PA MediaImage caption, Northern Ireland Secretary Sir Chris Bryant believed an agreement had been close

Northern Ireland Secretary Sir Chris Bryant has said two possible options were on the table during talks to resolve the Drumcree parade dispute.

Sir Chris banned the contentious Orange Order parade at Drumcree on Friday after an agreement couldn't be reached between the Portadown District Lodge and the Gavaghy Road residents.

The dispute led to a stand-off between Orangemen and nationalist residents of the Garvaghy Road in Portadown lasting almost two weeks.

Sir Chris' decision followed a warning from the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) chief constable that allowing the procession to go ahead could lead to serious injury, disorder and wider unrest across Northern Ireland.

One proposed compromise, he said, would have allowed the Orangemen to complete one final march along the Garvaghy Road, on the condition it would not apply to march the route again.

The other would have seen the group accept that it had won the right to march, but agree not to exercise that right.

Sir Chris said he believed an agreement had been close, but talks between the lodge and residents ultimately failed.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, he defended his decision to stop the parade, saying he could not see how the procession could safely take place.

He also said Stormont's power-sharing institutions had proved more resilient than expected, despite concerns the dispute could lead to the collapse of the Northern Ireland Executive.

The stalemate has reopened what was once one of the most bitter parading dispute in Northern Ireland, with stand-offs in the mid-to-late 1990s accompanied by riots, roadblocks and killings.

For decades, the situation at Drumcree has settled into a relatively minor stand-off that no longer made headlines, however that changed when the Parades Commission ruled that the march, on Sunday 27 September, could go ahead with restrictions in place.

That parade did not happen and, after a series of talks between residents and Orangemen, the secretary of state has banned the procession.

Sir Chris said he had spent the last fortnight trying to reach a resolution between Garvaghy Road residents and the Portadown District Lodge, holding a series of negotiations at Hillsborough Castle.

"I thought we were very close to an agreement, but unfortunately that was tantalisingly difficult to achieve."

He explained that two possible compromises had been considered.

"One was what people called one done and dusted. In other words, they would do one march and never apply again."

"And another version was that they would accept that they had won the right, but they wouldn't exercise that right."

Sir Chris said neither proposal had secured agreement from both sides.

He said the chief constable had written to him requesting intervention under the Public Processions (Northern Ireland) Act 1998.

"But it seemed to me that the real threat was, precisely as the chief constable had outlined, I couldn't see how the procession could take place."

Sir Chris also said he believed the original determination by the Parades Commission to allow the march had been "legitimate".

Image source, PA MediaImage caption, There have been 13 days of deadlock in Portadown since the decision to allow an Orange Order march down the Garvaghy Road on 27 September

Asked what he had learned from the dispute during his time as Northern Ireland Secretary, Sir Chris said: "It's not the easiest gig in the world."

He said he had encountered people willing to compromise, but others who found it more difficult.

"And I've learned that there are a lot of people of good will who want to make compromise. And there are some people who find compromise much more difficult."

Sir Chris said there had been concerns that the dispute could lead to the collapse of Northern Ireland's power-sharing executive.

However, he said the institutions had remained in place despite the tensions.

"The institutions of the Good Friday Agreement are probably more resilient than people think."

Drumcree was one of Northern Ireland's most serious parading disputes, when stand-offs in the mid-to-late 1990s over attempts by the Orange Order to march along the Garvaghy Road were accompanied by riots, roadblocks and killings.

When the Orange Order was prevented by police from walking down the route in July 1995, there was a tense stand-off. It was the same for the next three years.

The Parades Commission began operating in 1998 to regulate parades and try to defuse tension around marches.

Its decision not to allow a march down the Garvaghy Road that summer has been challenged by the order for the past three decades.

Earlier this year the Parades Commission decided that the march could go ahead on 27 September with restrictions in place after its original decision to stop the march was overturned in court.

That morning, up to 1,000 people – including politicians such as Northern Ireland First Minister Michelle O'Neill – blocked the road, preventing Orangemen marching from Drumcree Church a mile to the west.

Since then, residents have maintained a constant presence around the road while Orangemen have also repeatedly tried to march the route before being turned back by police.

On Friday night, members of the Portadown District Lodge again walked to police lines at Drumcree, as they have done regularly over the past two weeks, but were halted.

Image source, Pacemaker PressImage caption, A stand-off between Orangemen and RUC officers at Drumcree in 1996

The chief constable said last week that the consequences of police forcing an Orange Order march down the Garvaghy Road "could be catastrophic".

He had said while the PSNI's objective was to facilitate the determination, this could not be done "at all costs".

As of last Thursday, the policing operation over the dispute had cost about £3m.

The dispute has also prompted a police investigation.

The First Minister Michelle O'Neill confirmed she had received a letter from police investigating protests over Drumcree.

On Thursday, police said they had begun issuing letters inviting people "reasonably suspected" of committing offences linked to the protests to interview.

Two weeks ago, the Parades Commission issued a determination saying that the Orange Order parade was to be allowed on the Garvaghy Road with restrictions in place.

That prompted a legal challenge from the Garvaghy Road Residents' Coalition which opposed the march.

The Court of Appeal is considering whether to allow a challenge to the Parades Commission's ruling, which has been lodged by residents.

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