Drumcree Orange Parade

EDM number 1502 in 1997-98, proposed by Ken Livingstone on 01/07/1998.

That this House notes the decision of the Parades Commission to re-route the Drumcree Orange Order Parade away from the Garvaghy Road in Portadown following objections by the overwhelming majority of local residents and the refusal of the Orange Order to discuss with local residents or the Parades Commission their concerns about the march; condemns the call by the Orange Order for its members to break the law by defying the Parades Commission decision; believed that the Orange Order's refusal to discuss the concerns of the residents of areas through which it wishes to march conflicts with the spirit of the Belfast Agreement which stresses that all citizens must be treated equally and that conflict should be resolved through dialogue within the democratic process; notes that although the great majority of the people of Northern Ireland have endorsed the Belfast Agreement, it is rejected by the Orange Order; believes that the principle that the rule of law must apply equally to all citizens would be fatally undermined if Her Majesty's Government or the Royal Ulster Constabulary were to bow to the Orange Order's explicit threat of mass public disorder in defiance of the law; and calls upon Her Majesty's Government to use all means at its disposal to ensure that the decision of the Parades Commission to re-route the Drumcree Orange Parade is complied with and the rule of law upheld.

This motion has been signed by a total of 26 MPs.