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ORANGE ORDER WELCOMES HOUSE OF LORDS RULING
The Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland has welcomed the ruling by the House of Lords that the Parades Commission must disclose documents about the banned Dunloy Church Parade in 2004.
Five Law Lords today unanimously ruled that all relevant documents must be given to a Belfast court.
The Orange Order said:
“This is a major victory for the Orange Order. It highlights the culture of secrecy in the Parades Commission. We regard the commission as a secret court and it appears that the Law Lords agree with us.
“In an era when there is a move towards openness in government, the Parades Commission is going in the opposite direction.
“It is prepared to waste tens of thousands of pounds of public money to keep its procedures and internal workings a secret.
“Today’s unanimous judgement will be a body blow to the Parades Commission. The Orange order will now continue with the Judicial Review in the Belfast High court. We challenge the determination of the Parades Commission in regard to the Dunloy procession and we challenge its entire existence.
“Today’s ruling by the highest court in the land is another nail in the coffin of the discredited Parades Commission.”
Note to Editor.
The judicial review application was taken by Mr David Tweed of Dunloy Orange Lodge 496 in regard to the determination of the Parades Commission which in the view of the Orange Order placed unreasonable restrictions on the church service procession of the lodge in Dunloy on Easter Sunday afternoon, April 11, 2004.
The proposed procession route was only fro a distance of 375 yards and restricted to members of the lodge itself. The Parades Commission determination restricted the procession to the boundary of the lodge premises.
ORANGE ORDER MEET DUP TO DISCUSS PARADES
Members of the Orange Order have met the DUP to discuss the importance of the parades issue as an integral part of an overall political settlement.
The Orange Order delegation consisted of members of the Grand Lodge Parades Advisory Committee led by the Grand Master, Robert Saulters, the Grand Secretary, Drew Nelson and the Grand Treasurer, Mervyn Bishop.
The DUP was represented by the party leader Dr. Ian Paisley, Nigel Dodds M.P. and Ian Paisley jnr. MLA.
A spokesman for the Orange Order said the meeting had been very constructive.
“Our members were keen to hear about the talks at St. Andrews,” he said.
“We also took the opportunity to express our concerns about parading. The government announcement that they are to carry out a review of parading is a first step but we are still concerned about the Parades Commission and its negative role in the community. Petty restrictions being placed on parades have unnecessarily raised tension in a number of areas across the province in 2006.
“We cannot go into the New Year with the Parades Commission operating as it does at the moment.
“We are relying on the Unionist parties to protect the cultural and civil liberties of the Protestant people.”
Open Letter to Secretary of State
Dear Secretary of State
The discredited Parades Commission have barred the playing of music by bands accompanying East Belfast Royal Black Preceptories going to and coming from their annual ‘Last Saturday’ Demonstration today. This draconian measure relates to the stretch of road from Susan Street on the Newtownards Road to the Bridge End, - the Parades Commission excuse for this punitive action is that in 2005 the bands played during a funeral mass.
In 2005 the Royal Black Chapter were informed by the PSNI that if they hurried they could be past St. Matthew’s Roman Catholic Chapel before a funeral took place. They were not ordered to refrain from playing as claimed. The Loyal Orders and Bands have always paid due respect when they were aware that a funeral coincided with their parade, regardless of the deceased’s religion, denomination or ethnic origin.
We would contend that our parades and music are not intended to cause offence to anyone, but sadly there are those from a Nationalist tradition who simply use parades as an opportunity to foster division and perpetuate sectarianism. The Protestant community who reside along the Newtownards Road have a right to enjoy their culture as manifested in the parading tradition. Amazingly this community was not consulted about this decision. This vindictive action by the Parades Commission in cahoots with the PSNI, Strandtown does nothing to progress matters; indeed it hinders and stops progress.
The Parades Commission has indicated that there will be no parades next year if talking does not occur, surely even the Commission despite their proven inability to understand logic and display common sense must realise – forced engagement will not lead to meaningful relations. We as a society cannot afford to go into 2007 with the Parades Commission still functioning; their sell by date has long since passed. There is no place in Northern Ireland for a body with a track record as biased, incompetent and insensitive as the Commission. We need to establish fair and equitable ways in dealing with all expressions of culture. However, if the Parades Commission remains in place their presence will prevent political progress and pollute the opportunities for developing what a shared future means to all residents in this part of the United Kingdom.
Signed by
No 4 District RBDC No 6 District LOL
No 6 District RAPC No 2 District WLOL
No 3 District JLOL East Belfast Apprentice Boys Clubs
East Belfast Bands Newtownards Road Residents Group
Peter Robinson MP MLA Sir Reg Empey MLA
David Ervine MLA Robin Newton MLA
Michael Copeland MLA
GRAND MASTER RE-ELECTED
Grand Master Robert Saulters was re-elected at the December meeting of the Grand Lodge of Ireland in Armagh, today, December 13.
It will be his 11th year in office.
Deputy Grand Master Rev. Stephen Dickinson stood down from his post and was replaced by Edward Stevenson, County Grand Master for Tyrone.
Drew Nelson was re-elected Grand Secretary and Mervyn Bishop was re-elected Grand Treasurer.
Mr Saulters said it was an exciting and challenging time for the Orange Order.
He said:
“I am honoured to have been re-elected to the post of Grand Master. I believe the Order is strong at the moment and ready for the challenges ahead. There is still much to resolve in the parades issue but I believe we are making progress.
“We are building our relationship with religious and political leaders and I think more people now understand the important role that the Orange Institution has in the community.
“The government in the Republic of Ireland has endorsed our heritage with their planned development of the Battle of the Boyne site at Drogheda and this will help many people all over the island of Ireland, and further afield, to understand our history.
“We are expanding membership in the Republic of Ireland and now have new members in Limerick, Kilkenny, Cork and Kildare. That brings to nine the number of counties in the Republic where the Orange Order is organised.
“We have 100,000 members worldwide, on four continents – Europe, Australia, America and Africa.
“There are several key initiatives planned for the year ahead and I believe it will be an exciting time for the Orange Order and its members.”
