LONDON — British Prime Minister Andy Burnham called for calm in Northern Ireland on Sunday after a controversial parade was given the green light by the High Court in Belfast during a late-night sitting.
Thousands of protesters, many wearing balaclavas, gathered to stop demonstrators from the Orange Order, a group overwhelmingly supportive of Northern Ireland’s integration into the United Kingdom, from taking to a street in the town of Portadown, where many favor unification with the Republic of Ireland.
It is the first time in almost 30 years that the Orange Order parade has been allowed to march down Garvaghy Road, which had been a notorious point of clash between the communities in the years before the Good Friday Agreement of 1998 largely ended the bloodshed in Northern Ireland. During the so-called unrest, some 3,600 people were killed and some 50,000 injured.
Ending unrest meant balancing competing identities in Northern Ireland, which remained part of the United Kingdom when the rest of Ireland gained independence a century ago. Northern Irish nationalists – mostly Catholic – seek to unite with the Republic of Ireland, while predominantly Protestant unionists want to remain within the United Kingdom.
Burnham called for “calm on all sides” during the parade, saying “great progress has been made in Northern Ireland and we don’t want to see things go backwards.”
Jon Boutcher, head of the Police Service of Northern Ireland, called on “those with influence to encourage people to obey the law”, referring to a large protest blocking Garvaghy Road. According to him, there were no signs of violence or disorder.
“The police are engaging and working with all parties and will continue to do so. It is up to all of us to come together at times like this to do all we can to preserve a peaceful Northern Ireland.”
Politicians representing the two camps had opposing views on whether or not to continue the march.
Northern Ireland Prime Minister Michelle O’Neill, who represents Sinn Fein, a party historically linked to the Irish Republican Army, said the decision to greenlight the march “calls into question how this whole peace process is working.”
“The progress of the last 28 years has been called into question by the actions of the Orange Order and those in political unionism who want to take us backwards,” she said as she attended the counter-protest on Garvaghy Road.
Gavin Robinson, the leader of the Democratic Unionist Party, Northern Ireland’s largest pro-British party, criticized Sinn Fein leaders for inflaming the situation.
“The rule of law can only apply when Sinn Fein is happy with the outcome,” he said. “Our institutions are founded on respect for the police, the courts and the rule of law.”
The march received the final green light at a court hearing that concluded at 2:15 a.m. Sunday.
The Orange Order is named after William of Orange, a Protestant prince of Holland who defeated the Catholic King James to seize the British throne in the 17th century.
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