Republican News · Thursday 21 January 1999

[An Phoblacht]

200 days under siege

Yesterday was the 200th day of the loyalist siege of the nationalist Garvaghy Road area of Portadown. In that time there have been hundreds of demonstrations and protests designed to intimidate the nationalist people of the area. The protests - most of them led by prominent Unionist politicians - have been accompanied by threats against the residents and vioelnt incursions into the area. There are constant threats of more violence.

Just this week the Orange Order withdrew from future proximity talks with residents' representatives and suggested that they wish to hold their Twelfth demonstration in Portadown. They are clear signs that the siege is set to continue.

This is all happening in an area where nationalists have always been treated as second-class citizens and where many nationalists have been killed by sectarian gangs. It is no coincidence that those who support the siege of Garvaghy Road are also seeking to topple the Good Friday Agreement. They do not want to have a society based on equality and justice for that would diminish their power.

Local Sinn Fein Assembly member Dara O'Hagan has suggested that the Orange Order's withdrawal from talks and their continuation of the siege is linked to their opposition to the Good Friday Agreement. ``Attempts by the leadership of the Orange Order and other `No' camp Unionists to use the situation in Portadown to undermine the Good Friday Agreement are now clear. There is no other reason for their continuation of the Orange siege of the Garvaghy Road.

``The British Prime Minister Tony Blair and others have indicated that the decision of the Parades Commission concerning the march will not be altered. The leadership of the Orange Order know this, but through their protest they are attempting to unravel the Agreement.''

Those attempts will continue in the months ahead and it is important that nationalists and republicans support the people of the Garvaghy Road in their ordeal.

Contents Page for this Issue
Reply to: Republican News