Representatives of the Garvaghy Road Residents' Coalition emerged from a meeting with the British Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair, at Downing Street yesterday with a commitment from the government to uphold the decisions of the Parades Commission, but with no resolution in the impasse at Drumcree.
Meanwhile, the Orange Order has turned down an invitation to engage in another round of proximity talks which were expected to take place this weekend. The Grand Master of Co Armagh, Mr Dennis Watson, wrote to Mr Blair yesterday saying recent talks had proved "demoralising and demotivating" for his members who had "lost confidence" in the merit of taking part in more talks. After the 45-minute meeting, Cllr Breandan Mac Cionnaith, spokesman for the residents' group, praised Mr Blair's "positive statement" on the Parades Commission but said the government had not put forward any fresh proposals to resolve the situation. The meeting was "very open, very friendly, very frank", Mr MacCionnaith said and he called on the North's First Minister, Mr David Trimble, who yesterday criticised the failure of the Parades Commission to resolve the situation, to "constructively approach this problem".
With Downing Street standing ready to facilitate proximity talks at any time, Mr Mac Cionnaith said the Orange Order's refusal to take part meant there were "no negotiations because one side cannot negotiate with another if there's no other side there". However, he did not believe the proximity talks were dead in the water.
During their meeting with Mr Blair the residents' group had shown the Prime Minister a video tape documenting a campaign of "Orange terror" directed against nationalists in Portadown since July last year. This included evidence of more than 140 mainly illegal Orange marches in the area between July and early January this year. Mr Blair had given him an assurance that he would study the video, and if he felt questions needed to be asked "he would ask those questions", Mr Mac Cionnaith added.
Asked if British government proposals of a u15 £15 million economic and social package for Portadown would be accepted by the residents' group, Mr Mac Cionnaith said one set of rights could not be sold for another set. Rejecting the suggestion that the package might be linked to a resolution at Drumcree, he said that proposal would also be turned down.
Mr Mac Cionnaith appeared pessimistic about the prospect of a resolution of the problems at Drumcree. The reality, he said, was that anti-Agreement MPs were using Drumcree to undermine the peace process and the Belfast Agreement. The residents' delegation also included Mr Joe Duffy, an independent councillor, and Ms Rosemary Nelson, solicitor for the residents' group.