Politicians call for resolution to Drumcree dispute
Politicians have cautioned against escalating the parading dispute in Drumcree, after a warning from residents that it could lead to issues with other marches.
It’s the twelfth day of deadlock between residents of the Garvaghy Road and the local district lodge of the Orange Order over the proposed march in Portadown, County Antrim.
On Wednesday, the Garvaghy Road Residents Coalition (GRRC) said the disagreement was “no longer just about the Garvaghy Road” after meeting 11 other nationalist residents’ groups.
Several politicians have said they do not want the dispute to spark other disagreements about parades in other locations.
Claire Hanna, the leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), told the BBC’s Good Morning Ulster programme there was a need to “get a grip” of the situation “before it engulfs the wider political system”.
She called on the Secretary of State, Sir Chris Bryant, to withdraw permission for the parade but said that “sensible voices within unionism” should “ask the lodge to reconsider, because there is the potential for this to scale out into other areas”.
