Protestants march in 18 cities of Northern Ireland
By SHAWN POGATCHNIK, Associated Press Writer
36 mins ago
BELFAST, Northern Ireland – Tens of thousands of Protestants marched Monday in cities across Northern Ireland in an annual demonstration of communal strength that threatens peace in this long-divided British territory.
For centuries, Protestants from the Orange Order brotherhood have paraded on "The Twelfth" — an official holiday in Northern Ireland commemorating the July 12, 1690, battle victory by Protestant King William of Orange over Catholic rival James II for the British throne. This year's parades were scheduled for the 13th because Orange tradition does not permit Twelfth marches on Sundays.
The parades — featuring so-called "kick the pope" bands of fife and drum playing a mixture of Gospel and sectarian tunes — are loathed by the Irish Catholic minority, which views the tradition as insulting and intimidating. Protestant parades and Catholic hostility to them inspired Northern Ireland's descent into bloodshed from the late 1960s to mid-1990s, when paramilitary cease-fires took root after more than 3,600 killings.
Though the Orangemen are trying to modernize their image as less anti-Catholic, this year's parades in 18 cities and towns have nevertheless brought a surge in sectarian passions over the past week, with extremists on both sides vandalizing the other's most vulnerable homes, churches and community halls.
Several of Monday's parades include circus-style entertainers and historically themed floats. Orangemen have assigned officials to welcome tourists on parade routes, and central Belfast shopping centers are opening for the first time.
As authorities attempt to rebrand the Twelfth parades as "Orangefest," they have sought to limit clashes by blocking marches from passing through or near the most militant Catholic areas after riots in the mid-1990s brought the territory to the brink of civil war. Since then, Twelfth parades have passed in relative calm.
But on Sunday night, a house belonging to a Protestant couple in an overwhelmingly Catholic part of Ballymena, northwest of Belfast, was burned down while the owners were out.
"It's because they're Protestants living in a Catholic area," said the couple's niece, Pamela Dawson. She said they had suffered harassment and threats, and had been trying to sell their home. "That's it now. They'll not be able to go back there again."
Vandals have targeted several Orange Order lodges and Irish Catholic community halls, including Ancient Order of Hibernians halls — burning buildings, smashing windows and spraying graffiti insults on walls.
Five Catholic churches were hit by paint-filled balloons Thursday, including one in a Protestant part of Ballymena.
Irish Republican Army dissidents based in the most impoverished Catholic areas have tried to provoke a Protestant backlash. The dissidents, who want to unravel the IRA's 1997 cease-fire, forced a van driver to abandon his vehicle Friday night in on a Londonderry bridge connecting the city's mostly Protestant east side with its Catholic west. The bridge was shut down until British army experts determined Saturday night that the van contained no explosives.
By SHAWN POGATCHNIK, Associated Press Writer
36 mins ago
BELFAST, Northern Ireland – Tens of thousands of Protestants marched Monday in cities across Northern Ireland in an annual demonstration of communal strength that threatens peace in this long-divided British territory.
For centuries, Protestants from the Orange Order brotherhood have paraded on "The Twelfth" — an official holiday in Northern Ireland commemorating the July 12, 1690, battle victory by Protestant King William of Orange over Catholic rival James II for the British throne. This year's parades were scheduled for the 13th because Orange tradition does not permit Twelfth marches on Sundays.
The parades — featuring so-called "kick the pope" bands of fife and drum playing a mixture of Gospel and sectarian tunes — are loathed by the Irish Catholic minority, which views the tradition as insulting and intimidating. Protestant parades and Catholic hostility to them inspired Northern Ireland's descent into bloodshed from the late 1960s to mid-1990s, when paramilitary cease-fires took root after more than 3,600 killings.
Though the Orangemen are trying to modernize their image as less anti-Catholic, this year's parades in 18 cities and towns have nevertheless brought a surge in sectarian passions over the past week, with extremists on both sides vandalizing the other's most vulnerable homes, churches and community halls.
Several of Monday's parades include circus-style entertainers and historically themed floats. Orangemen have assigned officials to welcome tourists on parade routes, and central Belfast shopping centers are opening for the first time.
As authorities attempt to rebrand the Twelfth parades as "Orangefest," they have sought to limit clashes by blocking marches from passing through or near the most militant Catholic areas after riots in the mid-1990s brought the territory to the brink of civil war. Since then, Twelfth parades have passed in relative calm.
But on Sunday night, a house belonging to a Protestant couple in an overwhelmingly Catholic part of Ballymena, northwest of Belfast, was burned down while the owners were out.
"It's because they're Protestants living in a Catholic area," said the couple's niece, Pamela Dawson. She said they had suffered harassment and threats, and had been trying to sell their home. "That's it now. They'll not be able to go back there again."
Vandals have targeted several Orange Order lodges and Irish Catholic community halls, including Ancient Order of Hibernians halls — burning buildings, smashing windows and spraying graffiti insults on walls.
Five Catholic churches were hit by paint-filled balloons Thursday, including one in a Protestant part of Ballymena.
Irish Republican Army dissidents based in the most impoverished Catholic areas have tried to provoke a Protestant backlash. The dissidents, who want to unravel the IRA's 1997 cease-fire, forced a van driver to abandon his vehicle Friday night in on a Londonderry bridge connecting the city's mostly Protestant east side with its Catholic west. The bridge was shut down until British army experts determined Saturday night that the van contained no explosives.
