As the Parades Commission prepares to publish its latest determination on the controversial Orange Order parade from Woodvale to Ligoniel in north Belfast, NI Conservatives’ co-chair, Trevor Ringland, has called upon politicians “to make sure this dispute does not poison politics in Northern Ireland for another summer”.
“Of course, there should be every effort to reach a solution to the difficulties around the Woodvale Parade and the protest camp at Twadell Avenue”, Trevor stressed. “However problems in north Belfast cannot be allowed to determine political progress or relationships in the rest of Northern Ireland. Over the summer there needs to be a concerted effort from politicians to highlight areas where similar disputes have been resolved successfully.”
“North Belfast is an area which suffered particular trauma during the Troubles and that is manifested in problems like disputes around parades, albeit that there are many people in the community doing incredible work to improve relationships. It may take longer to work through these issues than it does elsewhere and they may even prove, ultimately, to be insoluble. That doesn’t mean that every summer has to be tense, or that the political parties at Stormont have an excuse to exploit the dispute. On the contrary, they have a responsibility to emphasise how problems can be solved and relationships improved.”