The British government was accused by Orangemen today of tolerating a system of "cultural apartheid" in Northern Ireland.
Portadown District Orange spokesman Mr David Jones made the accusation as Orangemen banned, from marching down the Garvaghy Road,launched a series of day-long events to demand the granting of a parade through the nationalist area.
In the first in a series of protests today marking over a thousand days of the Drumcree standoff, Orangemen staged a silent march from their Orange Hall in Carleton Street to Edenderry.
Portadown District officers and a representative from each of their 32 lodges left Carleton Orange Hall at 11.30am and marched in silence through the town centre before boarding a bus bound for the scene of their second protest - Hillsborough, Co Down.
The Orangemen will gather at Hillsborough Castle, the Queen's official residence in Northern Ireland and the Northern Ireland Secretary Dr John Reid, for a rally which will be addressed by Deputy Grand Master Alfie Lee.
They will hand in a letter of protest to Dr Reid against Northern Ireland Parades Commission rulings since 1998 banning a parade from Drumcree Parish Church through the Garvaghy Road.
The Portadown District will not take part in direct negotiations with the Parades Commission which the Orange Order refuses to recognise.
They also have not negotiated directly with representatives of the Garvaghy Road residents led by nationalist Mr Breandan Mac Cionnaith.
However, the district has taken part in a series of proximity talks with the Garvaghy Road Residents Coalition, including some chaired by the Prime Minister's chief of staff Jonathan Powell. All of these have failed to broker a deal.
The final event today in Portadown, a march through the town centre to a loyalist area bordering the Garvaghy Road, has been restricted by the Parades Commission.
Orangemen are barred from gathering in the loyalist Park Road but will gather instead 200 yards down the road near Portadown's train station where they be addressed by District Master Harold Gracey.
As the Portadown Orangemen made their way for the second leg of their protest at Hillsborough, nationalist residents group spokesman Mr Mac Cionnaith welcomed the restrictions placed on the final leg of the protest.
The Garvaghy Road Residents Coalition spokesman said the new route restrictions on the final Portadown leg of the protest would "minimise the potential for trouble" in the area.
The nationalist councillor added: "One has to question the wisdom of the Orange order holding a rally to mark one thousand days of the Drumcree dispute in this area.
"Everyone is aware that the Orange order has been urged by the Parades Commission to engage in dialogue with the residents.
"But they have gone on to break off contact with the mediator Brian Currin rather than get involved in a mediated process.
"There is a suspicion that the Orange order is pursuing a strategy of street demonstrations and disruptions designed to exploit the political needs of David Trimble during the elections."
PA