Latest talks on Drumcree stand off end without agreement

The latest round of talks aimed at resolving a parading dispute at Drumcree have ended without resolution.Stormont Justice Minister Naomi Long urged Orange Order members to “do the right thing”, saying they had the legal right to complete their march along the Garvaghy Road, but suggested doing so may not be wise.She described people across Northern Ireland as feeling “despair” at the reawakening of the tensions in Portadown on the sixth day of the standoff which has cost £3 million to police.The Portadown District of the unionist Orange Order wants to complete its traditional route for the first time in almost 30 years after the Parades Commission ruled they should be allowed along the Garvaghy Road, but the coalition of residents in the largely nationalist area is opposed to the march going ahead.Talks involving Orange Order members and the Garvaghy Road Residents Coalition broke up without agreement late on Thursday night.A fresh legal appeal by the residents is set to be heard in the Court of Appeal on Monday.Stormont Justice Minister Naomi Long suggested the right to march should not be exercised (PA)PA WireNorthern Ireland Secretary Sir Chris Bryant described the situation as being between a “rock and a hard place” after the unsuccessful late-night negotiations, but that his door remained open for further discussion.Speaking on RTÉ Radio’s Morning Ireland programme on Friday, Ms Long said the trauma of the Drumcree dispute reawakened after almost 30 years “runs very deep” not just on the Garvaghy Road but across Northern Ireland.“I think people are feeling a degree of despair, a degree of incredulity that we are back here again after 28 years,” she said.“People are angry that this has happened and are frustrated that we are back in this kind of dispute.”She made an appeal to the Orange Order that there is a “difference between what the law permits you to do and what is wise”.“They have now established that they have a right to walk on the Garvaghy Road, they do not need to exercise that right,” she said.Read More“They have established it in law.“They can do the right thing by the entire community on the Garvaghy Road, and I believe many people who support the Orange Order and right across Northern Ireland, and they can go back by the route that they went to Drumcree Hill, because there is another route of exactly the same length that will take them back to Carleton Street, Orange Hall, and over which there is no dispute.“I would appeal to people to be wise.“The courts can’t rule for reconciliation … that requires people to show wisdom and courage and grace and generosity, and that’s what’s required at this point in time.”Dr Richard Haass said he was disappointed (PA)PA ArchiveFormer US Special Envoy to Northern Ireland Dr Richard Haass said he was disappointed but not surprised at the current situation, saying the region “has not done a very good job at dealing with these issues”.“One of the thing I tried to do in my last diplomatic effort was to get people to come to terms with the legacy of the past, and Northern Ireland has failed to do that, and you have a whole new generation coming of age that has not learned an authoritative or balanced history,” he told BBC Radio Ulster.“Some people are romanticising the ‘good old days’ when things like this happened. I think this is a reminder that if you don’t deal with things, they don’t get better.”On Thursday night Sir Chris told reporters: “This is the end of these conversations.“We haven’t come to a settled agreement and it’s a shame but my door remains open obviously, tomorrow and in future days.“We’ve discussed a wide range of options, including mediation, including an option where the right to march was respected but wasn’t exercised, including an option where there was a final march and no further applications for marches into the future, and we’ve not managed to come to agreement on any of all that.”Sir Chris added: “I still believe that keeping conversations going and the dialogue going is a really important part of coming to a resolution for everybody.“There’s a court case on Monday. Obviously, we’ll have to see how that plays out.“And I would say that the law, in the end, is the law.”Loyalist activist and legal adviser to the Orangemen Jamie Bryson said they will accept the determination of the legal appeal on Monday as he challenged residents of Garvaghy Road to commit to walking away if their bid fails.Speaking after the talks ended without agreement on Thursday night, Mr Bryson said: “The challenge that we would put down to the Garvaghy Road residents – they’re going to the Court of Appeal on Monday – if the Court of Appeal upholds this determination, commit to accepting the law and walk away, and we’ll do the same.“Abide by the law, and if the Court of Appeal upholds the determination, get off the road, stop breaking the law, and allow the parade to go ahead.“If we lose, we’ll accept that.”Breandán Mac Cionnaith, of the Garvaghy Road Residents’ Coalition, told reporters the Secretary of State wants residents and the Orange Order to reach agreement but contended that “the reality is” there is “no such thing as half a march”.He said: “There’s a march, or there’s not a march – simply that.“We’ve made a share that our community has not given us any mandate to speak about a march.”Mr Mac Cionnaith said it was “not possible” to get a “meeting of minds” in the talks.Asked if the talks had run their course, he said: “For the time being, yes.”Mr Mac Cionnaith added: “They may want to re-embark upon another process at some stage, but the current process is done.”Earlier on Thursday, a gathering on the Garvaghy Road in Portadown, Co Armagh, included former Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams.It also saw performances by bands including folk music group The Mary Wallopers.Meanwhile, an open letter signed by 140 people of a Protestant background told Sir Chris and Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs Helen McEntee of distress.They said while they recognise that the Portadown District regard Drumcree as unfinished business, they are “distressed by the trauma that is being visited on the residents of the Garvaghy Road after 28 years of calm”.“We appeal to the Orange Order to look towards the bigger picture and bring this impasse to an end in the interests of our entire community,” they said.“We urge the British and Irish Governments to act together and without delay: to restore stability, to ensure that the parading framework is robust and trusted, and to spare the residents of the Garvaghy Road a return to the fear they endured for so many summers.“This is a time when all of us committed to a better future have a responsibility to raise our voices to protect peace, progress and a shared society free from sectarianism.“We must avoid the abyss we are currently staring into.“For the future of our children and grandchildren, we cannot go backwards.”The signatories include former Alliance MLA Trevor Lunn, Presbyterian Minister Rev David Latimer and former DUP adviser Wallace Thompson.