Short Strand residents at the centre of an illegal loyalist parade storm have met with the Irish government to voice their concerns about the climax to the marching season.
The weekend meeting between Short Strand residents and members of the British/Irish Intergovernmental Secretariat came on the same day that it was revealed that every Orange Order march planned for East Belfast on July 12 will be illegal. The news comes less than two weeks before the controversial Springfield Road parade in West Belfast.
The unlicensed parades, along with three others scheduled for the east of the city on July 1, will all pass by the Short Strand.
Around a dozen loyalist marches pass the tiny nationalist enclave each year. Previous parades have resulted in sectarian violence, with Catholic homes being attacked and rioting between rival factions.
Short Strand residents are keen to avoid a repeat of this, however they remain fearful that next month's illegal marches could spark fresh violence.
"We stressed to the Irish government the detrimental effect these parades will have on inter-community relationships in East Belfast," said a residents' spokesman.
"It is important that the Irish government recognises our concerns before the marches take place.
"There is a genuine fear in our community that we could be targeted if a stand-off situation occurs."
The East Belfast Orangemen's July marches were declared illegal after organisers failed to fill in parading application forms properly.
This is a deliberate tactic adopted by the Orange Order to prevent any of its members being arrested should there be a breach of Parades Commission guidelines at marches.
Previously Orangemen would put the names of the district masters and secretaries on parading application forms.
This led to leading Orangemen Raymond Spiers and Harry Whiteside being questioned under caution last summer after an alleged breach of Parades Commission guidelines at an East Belfast march.
By not putting names on the applications the Orange Order can now effectively prevent the PSNI from making any arrests.
Up to 20,000 loyalists are expected to attend the July 1 and 12 east Belfast Orange Order parades.
Although the Parades Commission ruled that a number of previous Orange marches in the area were illegal, the PSNI did not prevent them from taking place.
