TENSION is rising after the Parades Commission refused to review its decision to allow 41 loyalist bands to parade in the predominantly nationalist village of Rasharkin in Co Antrim tomorrow night.
There is increasing concern about the parade which will see some 1,200 loyalist band members parading from 8pm to 10pm in front of about 1,000 loyalist supporters.
Rasharkin has a population of about 1,000 people, 80 per cent of whom are nationalist.
The loyalist parade has been running for several years in Rasharkin and while parades have been relatively trouble-free, there has also been growing local nationalist opposition to the parade.
An ill-tempered public meeting chaired by local Sinn Féin Assembly member Daithí McKay was held in Rasharkin last week in which nationalist residents angrily stated that the parade should not be held.
Some members of the Protestant victims’ group, Fair – Families Acting for Innocent Relatives – said they were intimidated and subjected to anti-Protestant taunts by some nationalist at that meeting.
Nationalists from Rasharkin again vented their fury about the parade when with Mr McKay they met the Parades Commission in Belfast yesterday.
The commission told the group it could not review its original decision as the residents had brought no new evidence, as was legally required, to state why the parade should be rerouted, banned or further restricted. Mr McKay accused the commission of standing by a “decision to allow UVF/UDA participation” in the parade.
He said the annual parade brought “loyalist paramilitary displays, fear, intimidation and violence” to the village.
“It’s obvious that the commission believes that the right of loyalists to march and intimidate the people of this village outweighs the right of Catholics in Rasharkin to live free from sectarian harassment,” he added.
“Those who made this decision should hang their head in shame. A small village like Rasharkin cannot accommodate 41 loyalist bands and it doesn’t take a genius to see that. It is irresponsible and dangerous to let hundreds of loyalists loose in a mainly nationalist village like this,” said Mr McKay.
Local SDLP MLA Declan O’Loan, who also met the commission yesterday, called for “cool heads” over the parade.
“The Parades Commission has made its decision and it is now in everyone’s best interests that we accept it and work towards ensuring that the parade passes without incident,” he said.
“A loyalist band parade involving 41 bands is a major intrusion into a village that is 80 per cent Catholic,” he added.
Traditional Unionist Voice leader Jim Allister said it was “time for Sinn Féin to back off and quit its agitation as it tries to stoke up community tensions”.
“The organisers, participants and supporters of this lawful and proper parade desire only the right to express their culture in a peaceful and traditional manner,” he added.
