Q&A: Tension at Drumcree

LONDON, England -- The Northern Ireland Parades Commission has decided the loyalist Orangemen cannot march down the mainly nationalist Garvaghy Road in Portadown for the fourth year in a row.

CNN.com looks at why the annual July Drumcree Parade which takes in the Garvaghy Road draws so much controversy.

Q: Why does the Garvaghy Road seem to result in standoffs and violence?

A: Parades have taken place for more than 200 years, but they have passed off peacefully.

It is only during the past few decades that they have stoked animosity between Protestants and Catholics resulting in tension, and often violence.

The change came about with a substantial shift in demographics from predominantly Protestant communities to mainly Catholic populations.

The Garvaghy Road used to be an area of open fields until about 40 years ago when mainly Catholic housing estates began to sprout up.

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Garvaghy Road itself is a main artery of about 400 to 500 yards in length with few houses actually fronting on to it. The Catholic communities are on housing estates bordering the road.

Q: Why do Catholics object to marchers using the Garvaghy Road?

A: Catholics find the march a symbol of triumphalism because of the march's historical significance, and are angered that the Portadown Orangemen do not engage in dialogue over the march's route, while the Orangemen say they will not speak to nationalists.

Q: What has happened at the Garvaghy Road parade during recent years?

A: Resentment has grown over the years, culminating in the first real year of opposition and violence in 1995 after the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC), Northern Ireland's police force, prevented the Portadown District Orange Lodge from marching along the Garvaghy Road on its traditional return journey from a service in Drumcree Parish Church to its hall.

In that year, there was a two-day standoff between police and Orangemen, who refused to be re-routed or dispersed. The police finally relented but violence was sparked when the Democratic Unionist Party leader Reverend Ian Paisley and the Ulster Unionist Party leader David Trimble held their arms in the air at the end of the march in an action perceived by some as a victory sign.

In 1996, a four-day standoff occurred before the police again stood aside letting the march through, followed by disturbances.

In 1997, the parade was allowed through, again causing widespread rioting.

In 1998, a standoff took place after the Parade's Commission, in its first year, tried to re-route the march. But in the following violence three young Catholic boys burnt to death when their home was firebombed.

In 1999, the march passed off relatively peacefully after the RUC launched a major security operation resulting in the Portadown Lodge handing over a letter of protest.

In 2000, violence again afflicted the area.

In 2001, several hundreds of loyalists marched to the army lines in protest at the latest ban on the Friday before the march. They carried banners with "Shankill Road UFF" (Ulster Freedom Fighters) slogans but the evening passed without violence.

Q: Why do the Portadown Orangemen hold their parade?

A: The district church of Orangemen always holds its annual march on the Sunday before July 12. Members walk from the church after Sunday morning service and walk along the traditional route which takes them onto the Garvaghy Road down to the bottom of Portadown and back again.

The march is weighed down with significance also though because it coincides with the important Protestant date of July 12, when on that day in 1690 the forces of the Protestant English king, William of Orange, defeated the Catholic James II, at the Battle of the Boyne. That battle saw James II flee to France and effectively confirmed Protestant supremacy in Ireland.

The date is also significant because of the Battle of the Somme in 1916. On July 1 of that year the 36th Ulster division suffered some of the worst casualties of the British army during the battle, losing thousands of soldiers in a single day.

Q: Are all parades contentious?

A: There are about 3,500 parades held between Easter Monday and the end of September, some of which are contentious such as the Ormeau Road march in Belfast and the Bogside in Londonderry.

But the vast majority are not. The Parades Commission considered only about 300 of the 3,400 marches between 1999 and 2000, for example. Of the 295, it placed route restrictions on only 151, or 4.4 percent of all notified parades. Of these, 151, 52 were related directly to the Drumcree situation.

Drumcree is a particular problem because of a lack of engagement between the Catholic communities and Orange lodges, districts and county.

The South African human rights' lawyer Brian Curran has attempted to mediate between the two sides after putting himself forward last year, but with mixed results.

Q: How much power does the Parades Commission have?

A: The commission is a quasi-judicial body made up of the great and the good in Northern Ireland and headed by a former financial ombudsman. It has statutory powers under the Public Processions (Northern Ireland) Act, 1998.

It does not have the legislative authority to ban parades, it can only impose conditions.

The commission tries to balance the rights to freedom of assembly and expression within the interests of others.