“The Orange Order is the ‘super’ pro-British organization in Northern Ireland— as long as the British Government permits it to flaunt its Protestant supremacy by parading through poor Catholic neighborhoods, playing offensive and anti-Catholic tunes. The moment the British Government tries to restrict this offensive behavior (the purpose of the Parades Commission mentioned in the Irish News article below), the ‘super’ loyal Orange Order becomes disloyal.

Americans may have difficulty in understanding some aspects of The Troubles, but this is one aspect they do understand intuitively from their own history. All they have to do is ask themselves, ‘Why would White Supremacists want to march through poor Black areas in the United States?’  

As we keep stating, if Sinn Fein or other Republican groups insisted in marching in all-Protestant areas in Belfast, the Irish National Caucus would be the first to condemn it. Please see our Animated Internet Video on this issue – IrishNationalCaucus.org”

— Fr. Sean Mc Manus

Claire Simpson.Irish News (Belfast). Wednesday, November 23, 2016

THE Orange Order has hit out at the reappointment of the existing Parades Commissioners, saying the Secretary of State’s decision “amounts to nothing more than rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic”.

James Brokenshire announced on Monday that he has reappointed the five commissioners – Anne Henderson, Sarah Havlin, Paul Hutchinson, Colin Kennedy and Geraldine McGahey – for up to three years, subject to review in a year’s time.

He said he would also phase in “staggered appointments” to the commission over the next three years.

However, the Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland said it was frustrated by the move and said new parading legislation was needed.

“While the commissioners have over the years made some illogical, stupid and unjust decisions, including rewarding dissident violence; their reappointment amounts to nothing more than rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic,” it said.

“Mr. Brokenshire’s statement offers no hope that the current debacle will be replaced with fair and equitable legislation. It ignores the wishes of the leadership of unionism, all of whom have stated that the current legislation is not fit for purpose, underscoring that politics has failed the Orange family in respect of creating a level playing field for parading.”

The Grand Lodge said recent resolutions to contentious parades, including in Ardoyne in north Belfast, “were in spite of the Parades Commission, not because of them”.

“Indeed, their existence hindered solutions,” it said.

TUV leader Jim Allister said he was “disappointed” by the reappointments and added that laws around parades need to change.

“Fundamental legislative change is imperative to establish a presumption in favor of traditional routes and parades on main arterial routes, as they are a shared space,” he said.