Nationalist residents may block the Lower Ormeau Road in Belfast after the Parades Commission refused to reverse its decision allowing loyalists to march through the area on Easter Monday, Suzanne Breen reports.
It is understood plans are under way to distribute thousands of posters and leaflets to swell numbers at a protest rally on the Lower Ormeau on Easter Sunday night. The Apprentice Boys are due to march down the road on their way to Linenhall Street in the city centre. The residents met the commission on Monday night in an attempt to have the parade banned. However, in a statement yesterday the commission said it was standing by its decision.
The commission called on the Lower Ormeau Concerned Community to ensure that any protest it staged was both peaceful and legal. "The Apprentice Boys have consistently conducted themselves in a dignified and lawful manner on every occasion they have been rerouted," it said.
A LOCC spokesman, Mr John Gormley, said the commission had not seriously addressed the points raised at Monday's meeting. "The commission did not allow three loyalist marches down the Lower Ormeau last year. There has been no dialogue between the Apprentice Boys and residents in the intervening period. So why has the commission changed its mind on loyalist marches in the area? This is clearly a politically-motivated decision."