It's a pity that we need to have a special group of people to adjudicate on the issue of contentious parades in the north. Perhaps sometime in the near future we will reach a position where those who want to parade will simply meet those with concerns about marches and they will reach agreement.
Unfortunately as we enter 2003 that is not yet the case.
So the decision by secretary of state Paul Murphy to reappoint the current members of the parades commission for another year is welcome.
During the past 30-plus years of civil unrest some parades significantly raised tensions and led to disorder, injury and death.
Specifically, the dispute over the march from Drumcree along the Garvaghy Road has been hugely damaging.
Lives have been lost, policing the event has seen millions of pounds disappear and the damage done to the business world and tourist industry is incalculable.
Given the nature of the problem, those appointed to the parades commission face a difficult, often almost impossible, task.
Their decisions are virtually guaranteed to antagonise one side involved in the dispute, sometimes both.
But it is an undeniable fact that, since the commission came into being, tension and violence surrounding these events have been reduced.
Until we have a society in which people can work out their differences in a reasonable way and in a manner which respects each other's rights, we unfortunately need a parades commission.
To operate as fairly as possible, it needs the cooperation of all parties involved in disputes about marches.
That is the only way the Parades Commission can come to an informed decision which takes account of the views of all interested groups and organisations.
