An Orange parade down the Garvaghy Road did not have to take place on a Sunday, Mr David Jones, information officer for the Portadown District Loyal Orange Lodge, said yesterday.
He told The Irish Times the Orangemen were willing "to go right away" any day of the week, any daylight hour. "Nobody would be more delighted [to do so]," he said. They would, however, not like the parade to be in darkness as then they would be made to feel "like thieves in the night".
He said only members of Portadown District would take part. There would be no music, no flags, no banners and, to make the journey pass faster, they would walk six abreast instead of three. Should such a parade take place, "all else follows" he said, but it was necessary that the parade take place first before any talks as the Orangemen had no real confidence in any of the relevant institutions "after what has happened", he said.
However, even then, the Portadown Orangemen would not be prepared to enter face-to-face talks involving Mr Breandan Mac Cionnaith, Ms Dara O'Hagan, or anyone with republican backing.
The Garvaghy Residents' Coalition was not a normal residents' group, he said. It was politicised, and there was "awful resentment" of Mr Mac Cion naith among the Orangemen.
Since the recent decision by the Parades Commission, preventing the parade from going down the Garvaghy Road, the situation at Drumcree was "in a void", he said.
The commission's strategy had taken "a huge risk with the whole community" and he suggested that "perhaps it is as guilty of the crimes we are accused of".
He accused those who had condemned the Portadown District, and the protests it had called for, of "posturing".
It was apparent that recent pressure from churches and politicians had "very little or no influence at all. We have heard it all before."
It was very annoying, however, to hear such criticisms from such people as Mr Peter Mandelson, Mr David Trimble and the Church of Ireland Primate, Dr Robin Eames, who were "better aware than most" of what was involved. Condemnation was easy but it did not resolve the situation, he said.
The question needed to be asked at a broader level whether it was a tactic to demonise and divide the Orange Order, he said. "We've just had Drumcree Six, and how much further on are we?" he asked.
He thought it strange that the British Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair, had said nothing to date about Drumcree "considering what has happened". Having dealt with such people a number of times it was easy to be distrustful, he said. Rather than helping resolve the problem they had let it flare up again, he said.
Speaking at Drumcree hill, Mr Jones said their protest there was to continue until the parade was allowed down the Garvaghy Road. It was their bottom line.