SDLP Leader Claire Hanna MP has said she is stunned by the Parades Commission’s decision to permit a Portadown District Orange Order parade along Garvaghy Road, saying it is difficult to reconcile with the circumstances on the ground and the clear views of the local community.
Claire Hanna MP said:
“We are stunned by this decision, which is hard to credibly explain. When I presented to the Commission this week, I made clear the views I’d heard from across the community and that there was no material change in the circumstances which had been adjudicated on in the past, other than the Commission having been caught out in a procedural bungle. Those concerns cannot simply be set aside.
“This application has been cheerled by people who have incessantly pushed division and provocation. These will be challenging days, but those of us shocked and dismayed by this decision must work hard to remain calm and to keep order.
“Certain elements of political unionism have spent recent weeks ramping up the rhetoric around Drumcree and creating enormous public pressure regarding this decision. Some of the language has shown remarkably little regard for the history of this dispute or for those who bore the brunt of it.
“There is something deeply depressing about retreating back into old cultural battles when government here is struggling to perform its most basic functions. It is much easier to generate anger over Drumcree than to answer for failing public services, political dysfunction and an Executive unable to agree a Budget. People should recognise the DUP’s distraction tactics for what they are.
“Those who pushed for this outcome now have a particular responsibility to show restraint. There can be no triumphalism and no attempt to turn Sunday into another political spectacle. Political representatives should be conscious of that in everything they say and do over the coming days, and give this community the consideration that has been badly lacking in much of the debate.”
