There were fresh hopes last night (Wednesday) that trouble may be averted at a notorious Belfast interface with nationalist proposals to allow Orangemen to march along the Springfield Road.
The Springfield Road residents group offered to allow Orangemen to walk through the nationalist area if they agree to abide by a five-point plan aimed at averting serious trouble.
The road has been the scene of some of the worst rioting in recent years after Orangemen were allowed to march through the area but without the consent of residents.
A parade along the road on July 12 last year ended in serious rioting between police and nationalists, with the SDLP and Sinn Féin accusing police of attacking protesters.
In the past Orangemen have emerged on to the Springfield Road from a peaceline gate at Workman Avenue.
But the residents group now says it will not oppose a march set for June 28 if the order agrees to use an alternative route, through the disused Mackies factory, to emerge on to the road less than 200 metres from Workman Avenue.
Residents say they will not oppose the parade if Orangemen agree to the other four points in the initiative, namely that:
- no music should be played by bands until they have passed nationalist homes on the road
- only local lodges and bands should march along the contentious section of the route
- no paramilitary displays, flags or emblems should be carried by either Orangemen or bands and paramilitary uniforms should not be worn
- any security force presence in the area on the day of the parade should be de-escalated.
It is understood that officials from the Parades Commission met nationalist residents yesterday and agreed to pass the proposals on to the order formally.
It is understood that a number of individual unionist councillors and Orange-men have already been informed of the Springfield initiative.
Residents group spokesman Sean Murray insisted that the five-point plan was a genuine attempt at resolving the issue for future years.
"This is a serious attempt at trying to find an acceptable accommodation to this problem," he said.
"We have written to the Orange Order asking for dialogue every month for the last three years but they have never replied.
"In essence we are saying that we are prepared to accept Orangemen on the Springfield Road if they agree to use Mackies and abide by the other conditions.
"We are making a serious effort to solve this problem and we hope that the Orangemen will do the same."
An Orange Order spokesman said he was unaware of the proposals but added that the organisation would respond to the plan once it had time to study the details fully.
