About 1,000 people last night attended a loyalist march against the peace process in Portadown, Co Armagh, organised by the Concerned Protestants Committee.
The group was formed as a result of the controversy surrounding the annual Drumcree parade in the town. Speakers, including two DUP politicians, voiced their opposition to unionist involvement in the Stormont talks.
The rally heard strong condemnation of a Continuity IRA bomb which caused extensive damage in Portadown last week. Ms Pauline Gilmore, of the Ulster Civil Rights Group, claimed Provisional IRA members had been involved. She said Protestants were under threat in the North, but they would not accept cross-Border bodies with executive powers.
The SDLP had expressed grave concern about the march, claiming that some of those involved were sympathetic to the murdered Loyalist Volunteer Force leader, Billy Wright.
The LVF is widely believed to have been responsible for the gun attack on Tuesday in Poyntzpass, Co Armagh, in which two men died. They were buried yesterday.
Mr Ian Paisley jnr, of the DUP, said there was nothing sinister about the rally. He condemned all killings, including "those at Poyntzpass and that of Billy Wright". Addressing the crowd, he said Northern Ireland was in grave danger. "Only blood, sweat and tears will preserve this Union," he added.
Referring to the recent Portadown bomb, Mr Sammy Wilson, of the DUP, told the rally: "The flattened centre of this town shows just what republicans mean when they say they want peace. The continued agitation by nationalists on the Garvaghy Road shows just how genuine they are when they say they want accommodation."
He urged the UUP leader, Mr David Trimble, to "make up his mind" about republicans. "He can't have it both ways. He can't express horror at the Portadown bomb and say the IRA was responsible and then sit down and negotiate with republicans at the talks. If he believes the IRA were the bombers, then he should not negotiate with them. If he thinks they were not, and is willing to talk with them, then he should not tell lies about them."
A spokesman for the Concerned Protestants Committee said he was pleased at the turnout for the rally. He expressed "disgust" at Mr Trimble, who was "totally out of touch" with local feeling.
"We did not elect him to sit and talk with Gerry Adams. Nor was he elected to discuss the future of Northern Ireland with Bertie Ahern. At the May 1997 election he promised us that if there was no decommissioning he would bring down the talks process. There has been no decommissioning, the talks are still ongoing and he is a major participant."