N. IRELAND: ORANGE ORDER MEMBERS MARCH PAST DRUMCREE CHURCH скачать в хорошем качестве

N. IRELAND: ORANGE ORDER MEMBERS MARCH PAST DRUMCREE CHURCH

(13 Jul 1998) Natural Sound Members of the Protestant Orange Order in Portadown marched past Drumcree Church on Monday, despite calls for them to cancel the parade after the deaths of three Catholic boys in an arson attack over the weekend. A separate march in central Belfast attended by 70-thousand people also went ahead peacefully. The parades are part of the biggest holiday in the Orange Order calender, but the marching season inevitably causes tension with Catholics living on some of the controversial routes. Though their route was blocked, the Portadown Orangemen marched anyway, to celebrate a centuries-old military victory . Traditionally they pass along the predominantly Catholic Garvaghy Road, but this year the marchers and accompanying bands were barred from doing so. Orangemen claim it's their right to parade through the road, but the independent Parades Commission introduced the ban in a bid to avoid clashes between Protestant marchers and Catholic residents. The build-up to the celebrations has been marred by the subsequent standoff between Orangemen and security forces near the church at Drumcree. Without a compromise being reached, the Orangemen marched as far as Drumcree Church on Monday before making a U-turn and returning the way they came. The surrounding fields have been the scene of violent clashes over the past week as Orangemen camped out in protest against the ban. A series of Orange Order marches took place across Northern Ireland on Monday, including this one in central Belfast. Some 70-thousand people took part in the celebrations which form part of the Protestant brotherhood's biggest holiday. The marches are traditionally held on July 12th, but were put back until today (Monday) this year because the holiday fell on a Sunday. The parades mark the defeat of the Catholic King James II by the Protestant William of Orange at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690. But the marching season is always a cause of tension in the volatile province. Catholics feel the marches are triumphalist and intended to intimidate, especially when the Orangemen insist on passing through Catholic and nationalist areas. A controversial parade through the Catholic Lower Ormeau area of Belfast in Northern Ireland passed peacefully on Monday morning. Catholic residents on the Ormeau Road route called off plans to try to stop the march after Sunday's arson attack which killed three Catholic boys in Balleymoney, northwest of Belfast. The march was delayed for more than an hour after a bomb warning and two suspicious packages were destroyed by Army specialists before the parade could go ahead. After the violence of the past week, much of Northern Ireland will be breathing a collective sigh of relief that Monday's marches have passed so far without incident. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...