The Importance of the Marching Season to the Peace Process

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The Importance of the Marching Season to the Peace Process Every July, Orange Order marches take place to commemorate the Battle of The Boyne of 1690. Since the beginning of ‘The Troubles’ in 1969, the sectarian divide, essentially in the geographical areas of Northern Ireland, has become synonymous with the hopes and fears of the two ideologies yet who still remain poles apart. Parades and marches by the respective sides, reinforce this confrontation. The marches have often been a flashpoint for violence and have been a continual cause of tension between the unionists and the nationalists. To accommodate sensitivities and to reduce tension, recently some marches have been re-routed in order to stop the unionists marching through nationalist areas. Much of this work has been successful and tensions have been reduced. However in other areas, such as Drumcree and the approach through the Garvachy Road, the loyalists have insisted that they will not accept re-routing, and as with many things in Northern Ireland this has become a symbol of Orange defiance and example of where to draw the line. Originally the marches contained loyal Protestants who for a variety of reasons wished to march annually to raise the profile of their loyalty, culture and cause. The majority of these parades passed off peacefully and majority of who took part did not seek to incite violence. The 2004 marches ended peacefully and it was reported “so long as the rest of the summer passes off without serious violence, officials in London and Dublin are hopeful that they can create a positive atmosphere before fresh political talks in September.” However in 2005 the marches were used as a rallying call for extremists such as Johnny “mad dog” Adair whose use of violence highlights the frustration of the hardliners. Of course people such as this are only the tools used by more sinister forces such as the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), Red Hand Commandos and other such Para-militaries, who probably use violent means to destabilise the peace process.

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