Drumcree standoff: 'Nobody wants to go back 28 years'
Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Bryant has travelled to Belfast amid tense scenes in Drumcree where a planned Orange Orange parade has been met with nationalist protesters.
Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Bryant has visited Belfast to address the recent tensions surrounding an Orange parade planned for Drumcree. Bryant emphasized that nobody wants to relive the past 28 years, stating that no one in Northern Ireland politics wishes to dismantle the Good Friday Agreement. He stressed the importance of a fully functional Parades Commission and urged all parties to double down on compromise.
Meanwhile, Taoiseach Micheál Martin expressed concern over the situation in Portadown, describing the Parades Commission's decision to permit the parade along the Garvaghy Road as "incomprehensible and wrong." Martin appealed for a calm resolution, urging people to mediate through this challenging period without reverting to past divisions.
British Prime Minister Andy Burnham also called for calm amid the parade plans, praising the significant progress made in Northern Ireland and warning against taking steps backward. Burnham reiterated the importance of maintaining peace and stability in the region.
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