THE PARADES Commission is routinely embarrassing loyal orders, a senior Belfast loyalist has said.
Winston Irvine from the North and West Belfast Parades Forum was speaking after the head of the Parades Commission suggested that a loyalist band who appeared to stop outside a Catholic Church in Belfast and play an anti-Irish tune, could be banned.
Peter Osborne, the chairman of the parades watchdog, said the actions of the Young Conway Volunteers outside St Patrick’s Church on Donegall Street in Belfast – captured on a mobile phone video – “looked totally inappropriate”.
While stating that an investigation was still ongoing, Mr Osborne went on to suggest that the outcome could be to ban the band or restrict the Twelfth march.
Mr Irvine said it was wrong for Mr Osborne to comment while the incident was under investigation.
He said: “You also have to look at the wider picture. Republicans used the GARC parade as cover to launch attacks on the PSNI, and what has the Parades Commission to say about that?
“It seems to many in our community that the Parades Commission is now routinely embarrassing the Loyal Orders.”
North Belfast MLA Nelson McCausland said Mr Osborne’s comments would cause further anger and reinforce unionist and loyalist perceptions that the Parades Commission is partisan.
“I think it completely inacceptable that Mr Osborne should make these remarks while an investigation is still ongoing,” he said.
“I would suggest that legal advice is one option which should be considered in relation to what he had said.
“Once again the Parades Commission has shown total disregard for due process. It is very wrong to speculate about what any outcome of an investigation may be, and to then suggest what actions may be taken.”
The DUP Assemblyman claimed the commission had also failed to deal with serious complaints raised over republican marches.
“There are many issues which have been raised over the behaviour of bands at parades, but we only ever hear the commission speak out when those complaints are about loyal order marches,” he said.
“I was present when evidence was submitted of a paramilitary display in a republican parade through the centre of Belfast but have not heard anyone from the commission speak out about that.”
Mr McCausland said the interview by Mr Osborne was consistent with the Parades Commission decision to restrict an Orange march past the Ardoyne shops and their approval of a dissident republican protest march on the Twelfth.
“They had already lost all credibility. People from the unionist community view the commission as partisan,” he said.
In his interview with the Irish News on Monday, Mr Osborne revealed the commission had yet to speak to the loyalist band.
“We will wait for that process to conclude to see what the organiser has to say before we draw any conclusions on that,” he said.
“In terms of the commission we can look at both that area and whether it is a sensitive area that we want to pay particular attention to.
“Ultimately we could potentially exclude bands from either that particular part of the route or indeed from particular parades.
“It’s not something we would want to do but where there are circumstances where it is justified, it is a factor we would consider.”
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