Sligo 32 County Sovereignty Movement: Reroute The Marches

13/7/2010

The 32 County Sovereignty Movement in Sligo would like to take this opportunity, in the wake of the rioting that engulfed North Belfast and elsewhere, to condemn the Parades Commission and the British government for their facilitating of contentious orange parades.

Each year nationalist residents are subjected to police swarming into their communities to allow Orange Order marchers to swagger through. The history of the Order, its blatantly sectarian purpose and its triumphant behavioral patterns, make these marches unwanted and unacceptable. In light of this it is unsurprising to see locals clashing with the police sent to protect the marchers. The intensity of the response to the marches is merely an indicator of the strength of feeling about the issue.

Even the Parades Commission were forced to admit that the Order refused to engage with the local community rendering the talk about inclusiveness emanating from unionist politicians as hollow and meaningless.

Provisional Sinn Fein were forced to trot out the usual lies about “dissidents” bussing in rioters. Perhaps it has been so long since they’ve set foot in working class areas they are unable to recognize their own constituents. The Greater Ardoyne Residents Committee is also a body made up entirely of locals and so it is unfathomable to think that it is outsiders objecting to the parade.

We stand in solidarity with the beleaguered residents and urge all republicans to support them in their efforts.