Political recriminations continued last night over the serious disturbances surrounding Monday night's contentious Orange Order parade through Ardoyne. Speaking before a meeting with Ardoyne residents yesterday (Tuesday), Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams accused the NIO and police of rewarding the order and loyalists, after warnings of protests and roadblocks if the parade had not been allowed to go ahead.
Mr Adams claimed Secretary of State Paul Murphy and elements within the NIO and PSNI had taken a "political judgment" to allow loyalists to march through Ardoyne after meetings with senior unionist politicians at the weekend.
"I have no doubt this was Orangeism flexing its muscle," he said.
Mr Adams said Ardoyne residents were angry at what had been allowed to happen on Monday night.
"People will not accept this exhibition of triumphalism. The croppies will not be lying down," he said.
"We want to extend the hand of friendship, but we won't have it bitten off."
Taoiseach Bertie Ahern described the events in Ardoyne as "deeply regrettable" and "disturbing".
"I know that there are widespread concerns about the handling of this march, and specifically that those not directly involved in the march were allowed to proceed through Ardoyne," he said.
"It is now important to establish precisely what happened and to see what lessons can be learned."
Mr Ahern said he would be receiving a report from Irish government officials who were at the scene and the matter would be raised with the British government.
The DUP's Nigel Dodds claimed that the Parades Commission had to accept "a great deal of blame" for Monday night's events.
"Its inept handling, purporting to ban supporters when a legal challenge showed it had no jurisdiction to do so, added immensely to the difficulties faced by people on the ground working to achieve peace and quiet," he said.
SDLP councillor Martin Morgan said the presence of well known loyalist paramilitaries among supporters marching past Ardoyne had been raised during a meeting with Mr Murphy at Hillsborough last night.
"Well known UDA leaders such as William Borland were among supporters allowed to march past Ardoyne," he said.
"Others in the crowd were clearly seen waving UDA flags, which is a criminal act, and the police are duty bound to investigate.
"We told Paul Murphy the police decision to allow supporters past Ardoyne shops left a perception among nationalists that police had given into the threat of violence."
Mr Morgan said nationalists believed that police had deliberately "twisted" the Parades Commission ruling for their own benefit.
UPRG spokesman Sammy Duddy defended Mr Borland's participation in Monday night's march.
"He had as much right as anyone to take part in that parade," he said.
"Like thousands of other people, he took part in the Twelfth celebrations and was entitled to walk home along the Crumlin Road."
Police said 25 officers were slightly injured in the disturbances. The army said 10 soldiers suffered minor injuries.
Defending the policing of the parade, Assistant Chief Constable Duncan McCausland rejected nationalist claims that a deal had been agreed with unionist community leaders.
He defended the decision to allow supporters to march past Ardoyne.
"How could I have policed it any differently? Everyone there had their human rights," he said.
"We did not betray anyone – we policed the law as the law was laid down."
Mr McCausland said he could not have stopped the loyalists or bussed them through Ardoyne and that police had only taken the decision to allow supporters to march at the last minute.
He insisted that police had to take the human rights of loyalists into account.
"That situation was not of my making. The Parades Commission made their decision," he said.
"I agreed with the Chief Constable that we would police that decision.
"As to whether it was a wrong decis-ion, that's for the whole community to decide."
Mr McCausland also rejected nationalist claims that the police decision had increased tensions in the area.
"I ask people to watch and judge us as to what happened," he said.
"We minimised as much as we possibly could the problems we had to face – not just our problems, the whole community's problems.
"I have no apology to make in terms of how our officers behaved.
"They behaved extremely professionally, as did our army colleagues."
