LEARNING FROM OUR MISTAKES
Learning from our mistakes
THE past weekend should have been an occasion for serious and sombre reflection on the first anniversary of the Omagh carnage.
Instead, the poignant ceremonies in Tyrone and elsewhere were overshadowed by the rioting which took place in Derry.
It needs to be said that the violence and destruction witnessed in the city on Saturday night and early yesterday was a disgrace.
Those who planned and perpetrated it displayed a callous indifference to the memory of the innocent victims of Omagh.
There was also very little respect for either the living or the dead to be found on the Ormeau Road in Belfast on Saturday.
The disturbances which broke out there were highly predictable, and could easily have been avoided.
A series of errors of judgment were involved, the first and most basic of which was on the part of the nationalist demonstrators.
The Apprentice Boys, having had their stance vindicated by the Parades Commission, could also have won widespread respect by voluntarily re-routing their march, while the response of the RUC was questionable in many respects.
Nevertheless, the primary responsibility for the confrontation lay with the leaders of the Ormeau residents.
They could have simply ignored the parade, without surrendering any principles, because of the Omagh anniversary.
Alternatively, they could have staged the kind of silent protest which was so effective during the Orange march which went ahead in the aftermath of the murder of the Quinn children last July.
Instead, in an action which was morally and tactically wrong, as well as illegal, they urged supporters to physically block the parade by sitting down in the middle of the road.
It was telling that, despite strident appeals for backing from nationalists across Belfast, less than 200 people answered the call.
The aggressive way in which they were removed from the road brought little credit to the RUC and the kicks directed at some of the protestors would certainly merit disciplinary measures, but the entire episode should never have been allowed to happen.
It is important to remember that previous loyalist marches on the Ormeau Road were unacceptable because of their abusive and triumphalist nature, the timing and sheer scale of the parades, the curfews imposed on the district and the total lack of consultation with the residents.
Ormeau nationalists effectively won the argument over the issue through their dignified insistence that dialogue was the only way forward.
As a result, the Apprentice Boys, in a highly significant change of direction, engaged with prolonged face-to-face talks with residents and fully recognised the lawful authority of the Parades Commission.
They also agreed to restrict the march to less than 30 participants, accompanied by a silent band, and to stage it when it would cause minimal disruption at 8am on a Saturday.
There have been suggestions that the Ormeau parade could be the prelude to the granting of permission for an Orange march down the Garvaghy Road in Portadown.
This would be a matter for grave concern, as the type of parade demanded by Orange officials in Portadown is radically different from what took place on the Ormeau Road on Saturday.
The order is seeking to bring up to 2,000 members through a nationalist district in the middle of the day, without discussing their plans with either the residents or the Parades Commission.
Unless Orange leaders radically reduce the size of their march, review its proposed timing and, crucially, enter into direct negotiations with both the residents and the Parades Commission, there could be no possible justification for movement by the authorities.
There is a world of difference between the respective approaches of the Orange Order and the Apprentice Boys to the marching debate, and it is essential that this should be remembered by all those in positions of responsibility.
THE past weekend should have been an occasion for serious and sombre reflection on the first anniversary of the Omagh carnage.
Instead, the poignant ceremonies in Tyrone and elsewhere were overshadowed by the rioting which took place in Derry.
It needs to be said that the violence and destruction witnessed in the city on Saturday night and early yesterday was a disgrace.
Those who planned and perpetrated it displayed a callous indifference to the memory of the innocent victims of Omagh.
There was also very little respect for either the living or the dead to be found on the Ormeau Road in Belfast on Saturday.
The disturbances which broke out there were highly predictable, and could easily have been avoided.
A series of errors of judgment were involved, the first and most basic of which was on the part of the nationalist demonstrators.
The Apprentice Boys, having had their stance vindicated by the Parades Commission, could also have won widespread respect by voluntarily re-routing their march, while the response of the RUC was questionable in many respects.
Nevertheless, the primary responsibility for the confrontation lay with the leaders of the Ormeau residents.
They could have simply ignored the parade, without surrendering any principles, because of the Omagh anniversary.
Alternatively, they could have staged the kind of silent protest which was so effective during the Orange march which went ahead in the aftermath of the murder of the Quinn children last July.
Instead, in an action which was morally and tactically wrong, as well as illegal, they urged supporters to physically block the parade by sitting down in the middle of the road.
It was telling that, despite strident appeals for backing from nationalists across Belfast, less than 200 people answered the call.
The aggressive way in which they were removed from the road brought little credit to the RUC and the kicks directed at some of the protestors would certainly merit disciplinary measures, but the entire episode should never have been allowed to happen.
It is important to remember that previous loyalist marches on the Ormeau Road were unacceptable because of their abusive and triumphalist nature, the timing and sheer scale of the parades, the curfews imposed on the district and the total lack of consultation with the residents.
Ormeau nationalists effectively won the argument over the issue through their dignified insistence that dialogue was the only way forward.
As a result, the Apprentice Boys, in a highly significant change of direction, engaged with prolonged face-to-face talks with residents and fully recognised the lawful authority of the Parades Commission.
They also agreed to restrict the march to less than 30 participants, accompanied by a silent band, and to stage it when it would cause minimal disruption at 8am on a Saturday.
There have been suggestions that the Ormeau parade could be the prelude to the granting of permission for an Orange march down the Garvaghy Road in Portadown.
This would be a matter for grave concern, as the type of parade demanded by Orange officials in Portadown is radically different from what took place on the Ormeau Road on Saturday.
The order is seeking to bring up to 2,000 members through a nationalist district in the middle of the day, without discussing their plans with either the residents or the Parades Commission.
Unless Orange leaders radically reduce the size of their march, review its proposed timing and, crucially, enter into direct negotiations with both the residents and the Parades Commission, there could be no possible justification for movement by the authorities.
There is a world of difference between the respective approaches of the Orange Order and the Apprentice Boys to the marching debate, and it is essential that this should be remembered by all those in positions of responsibility.
Further Information
Publisher: THE IRISH NEWS
Ref: IN/0322
Published Date: 16-Aug-99
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