AN apparent breakthrough last night in negotiations between the
RUC and the organisers of a controversial loyalist march tonight in Ballymena, Co Antrim, has encouraged hopes that the parade will pass off peacefully.
Loyalists are due to hold a rally beside Our Lady's Catholic Church in the Harryville area of Ballymena tonight. They had planned to parade past the church at 6.30 p.m. during evening Mass.
However, a spokesman for the Harryville Residents' Association, which is organising the march, last knight said it would agree to police, proposals that the march be delayed until at least 6.45 p.m. when, Mass-goers will have left the church.
The organisers had previously" refused to change the departure time, but the spokesman said: "I suppose it is reasonable that the police want to get people out of Mass before the parade. We will not be opposing that. Common sense has prevailed. We don't want a confrontation with the RUC in Harryville.
"I don't think that there is any danger of a riot situation now. But if hundreds of people are on the streets, you can't always control everyone. It might be impossible for example, to stop a young fellow who had been drinking from throwing a bottle. But hopefully there will be no serious trouble"
Up to 22 bands and 1,000 loyalists are expected to take part. The weekly picket outside Our Lady's will take place as usual. The loyalsts are protesting at nationalists in the neighbouring village of Dunloy blocking Orange marches.
The RUC would not comment on reports of a breakthrough. A spokesman said that the parade application was still being considered. However, a police source in Ballymena said he believed that an agreement had been reached.
Earlier, the Ulster Unionist leader, Mr David Trimble, said he did not believe the march should be prohibited but he thought the parade was "a mistake". He understood the "annoyance" of the organisers but believed that they were "doing things the wrong way".
The SDLP had appealed to the RUC to take whatever measures were necessary to protect Massgoers. Republicans had called for the parade to be banned.
Meanwhile, the fragile security situation in the North was exacerbated further yesterday by an IRA bun attack near Belfast International Airport.
Two British soldiers escaped injury when three bullets struck their unmarked military vehicle at Killead roundabout at 8 a.m. The attack came just 10 hours after the IRA threw a coffee-jar bomb at an RUC patrol in Lurgan, Co Armagh.