Konflikte: Gegendemonstranten blockieren Oranier-Parade in Nordirland
Erstmals seit Jahrzehnten darf der protestantische Oranier-Orden in einem katholischen Teil von Portadown in Nordirland marschieren. Doch am Morgen kommt die Parade zunächst nicht los.
Gegendemonstranten in Portadown, a predominantly Catholic area of Northern Ireland, disrupted a controversial parade of the Protestant Orangemen on Sunday morning. It was the first time since the 1990s that the parade had been permitted to march along the Garvaghy Road, following a decision by the Parades Commission.
Upon arriving on the streets, hundreds of counter-demonstrators gathered in heavy rain. The parade, which had only 35 participants and no bands or supporters, was initially unable to start. Meanwhile, members of Sinn Féin, an Irish nationalist party, were also involved in the protest against the parade.
In the vicinity of the street, fireworks were fired off early in the morning. Northern Ireland's First Minister, Michelle O'Neill, called for "calm on all sides" on social media. However, she also acknowledged her support for residents' right to protest the "unwanted sectarian march." O'Neill's Sinn Féin political colleague emphasized that "this march should not run down the Garvaghy Road."
The decision to allow the parade had been preceded by a fierce dispute. Since 1998, the Parades Commission had prohibited the march along the street. In the 1990s, the Orangemen's Association, founded in 1795 to preserve monarchy and Protestantism, had experienced several violent confrontations during the Drumcree conflict. The Orangemen's Order was established in Portadown during that time to protect itself from attacks by Irish Catholics.
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