Tensions rise in Belfast over parade on Saturday
08/09/2005 - 15:01:03A joint unionist-Orange Order delegation will meet the Northern Secretary, Peter Hain, this afternoon to discuss Saturday's parade in west Belfast.
The Orange Order has demanded that the British government allow the parade to go ahead and allow it to march through the peace line in west Belfast. This is despite a ruling by the Parades Commission re-routing the parade away from the nationalist area.
The SDLP and Sinn Féin said the commission’s ruling should be upheld. Both parties have criticised loyalist blockades in west and north Belfast, which have caused major traffic gridlock over the last few days.
The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Dermot Ahern, is visiting Belfast today and it is expected that Sinn Féin and the SDLP will raise their concerns with him on the issue.
