The first stage of a controversial Protestant civil rights march from Derry to Drumcree passed off peacefully yesterday, despite two separate nationalist protests.
Around 100 marchers set off from Derry city centre amid tight security. Around 300 residents of the Bogside staged a silent pavement protest in Shipquay Street. A huge banner said "March of Shame". Other placards said "Walk of Hate".
Police barriers separated both sides. Later, the demonstration passed the Rising Sun bar in the mainly nationalist village of Greysteel, Co Derry, where eight people were killed in a loyalist attack in 1993.
Around 30 local residents stood in silence, their backs turned to the road, as the marchers passed by.
As the march left Derry, protesters held placards bearing the name of victims of recent loyalist violence including the Lurgan solicitor, Ms Rosemary Nelson. Each said: "Killed by civil rights". The marchers said they were spat upon by the protesters, a claim the protesters denied.
Earlier, the RUC carried out a controlled explosion on a suspect object which turned out to be a battery.
The first stage of the "Long March", which was completed yesterday, was the 18-mile walk from Derry to Limavady. The march has been organised by unionist politicians, Protestant victims of violence, and Orangemen.
The 10-day procession is set to follow a roundabout route of 117 miles, arriving in Portadown, Co Armagh, on the eve of the Drumcree parade. The organisers have denied nationalist claims that it is a sectarian event to draw loyalists to Drumcree and heighten tension.
One of the organisers, Mr Jonathan Bell, an Ulster Unionist councillor, said the sole aim was to uphold Protestant civil rights.
"We are demanding cultural toleration for the Protestant community. We will not accept sectarian apartheid.
"This is a freedom march. We must be free from the murder and attrition that has plagued this country for so long. We have vetted our marchers. We have co-operated fully with the forces of law and order. We are making a legal, democratic protest.
"We do not want anybody here who is interested in violence or paramilitary groups."
Fellow organiser United Unionist Assembly member Mr Frazer Agnew said: "For 30 years the people of this province have been bombed, bullied, bribed, brainwashed and blackmailed.
"This march is to highlight the ethnic cleansing and job discrimination Protestants have suffered."
Among those taking part was Mr Jim Dixon, who was badly injured in the Enniskillen bomb in 1987.
Leaning heavily on his walking stick, Mr Dixon said he was there to show his respect for the 11 people "blown to pieces by evil men". DUP Assembly member Mr Paul Berry said: "We are here to show that we are the real victims of violence in Northern Ireland." However, Mr Donnacha Mac Niallais of the Bogside Residents' Group denied it was a civil rights march and said it was aimed at supporting the Drumcree protest.
The marchers denied they were being provocative by passing the Rising Sun bar. "We are not rubbing salt into the wounds of those injured or the families of the bereaved," said Mr Berry.
The marchers bowed their heads as the passed the bar. However, Greysteel residents were unimpressed. One said: "This march is the last thing we need. We had hoped all the bigotry was in the past. This march has nothing to do with civil rights and everything to do with Drumcree." Another resident said: "We are trying to move into the 21st century and they want to go back to 1690."
The second stage of the march, from Limavady to Coleraine, Co Derry, will be completed today.