Andy Burnham calls for calm ahead of last-minute Orange Order march in Northern Ireland
The First Minister of Northern Ireland has called the demonstration an 'unwanted sectarian march'
Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said people should "work calmly" ahead of a unionist march organised for a nationalist area.
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His statement came after the First Minister of Northern Ireland urged calm on “all sides” ahead of an “unwanted sectarian march” through a well known nationalist street.
Burnham has called for calm over an Orange Order march scheduled for 8:00am Sunday which got a last-minute legal go-ahead to go through Garvaghy Road in Portadown, a well known nationalist strong-hold. As of 9:00am the march had not started.
The march has historically seen clashes between the unionist Orange Order and Caltholic residents who are supportive of a united Ireland.
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Burnham, who is currently in Liverpool for the Labour Party conference asked for people to "work calmly through the events of the weekend.” And, said his government will provide support where needed.
First Minister Michelle O’Neill has been clear she believes “this march should not be going down the Garvaghy Road.”
While O'Neill, of Sinn Féin, has said she supports the “right of the Garvaghy Road residents to protest against this unwanted sectarian march,” residents of Garvaghy Road are now being asked to move as they are blocking the road ahead of the parade.
The Orange Order march has not gone down Garvaghy Road since 1998 following years of clashes in the area.
“The Garvaghy Road community is completely horrified by the decision to force this unwanted orange march through their community, and I have shared that view with all who I have engaged with,” said O’Neill on X.
“I am calling for calm on all sides.”
The march got the go-ahead to travel down the road with the stipulations that the march could only be comprised of 35 people and could not be accompanied by a band.
Portadown District of the Orange Order said it will "comply fully" with the Parades Commission restriction
In response to concerns about safety, Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) MP Carla Lockhart said that people should not “get caught up in the hysteria that is being shown by Sinn Fein.”
And, that the march is just "35 men walking down a road silently with no bands in an orderly fashion".
Whilst the march is just going to be 35 people, there are hundreds of people blocking the entry to Garvaghy Road, with police urging them to disperse.