For the past 28 years, the Orangemen of Portadown District No 1 have operated within the law.
Whilst consistently objecting to the ruling of the Parades Commission, week by week for just under 30 years, each Lords Day they have paraded from Drumcree Parish Church to the Police Line at the bridge in order to present a letter, objecting to the determination of the Prades Commission and requesting the right to bring their banner and brethren home.
Throughout this long period the Orange Order has operated within the law. Most recently they mounted a legal challenge and obtained a victory within the High Court of our land .
Yet in spite of their patience, endurance and their adherence to the rule of law, the Portadown brethren have been penalised by the Chief Constable and the Secretary of State.
The Parades Commission may have given their approval and permission for the parade to proceed
The High Court may have given their consent also
But the Mob, the dissident’s, the old guard of the IRA locked arm in arm with Sinn Fein / SDLP / People before Profit along with additional republican politicians have said NO to the rule of law.
The Chief Constable has caved in and has admitted defeat and in so doing he has surrendered the streets of this Province to Mob rule, making the statement that” its not possible for the parade to happen without the risk of injury.”
That didn’t seem to bother the Chief Constable, when water cannons are turned upon the Loyalist people of Belfast / Ballymena in bye gone days of yore. He had no problem clearing the streets on those occasions
The Independent Loyal Orange Institution therefore calls upon the Chief Constable John Boutcher to resign with immediate effect. You have lost the complete confidence of the Protestant / Loyalist community in this Province and Its time for you to GO, your position has become untenable within the force
Sadly, the Secretary of State has intervened prohibiting the parade from taking place. A government who cannot govern its people, is not fit to govern at all.
Whilst we condemn in the strongest possible terms, lawlessness, violence, bullying, and intimidation both the Chief Constable and the Secretary of State have sent a message out loud and clear that only this type of behaviour will be rewarded and such contempt for the rule of law will ultimately lead to the rule of law being overturned in favour of those who knowingly flout the Judicial System. How utterly horrendous.
The so-called shared future so commonly referred to by Sinn Fein, is nothing more than a trojan horse. The mask has evidently slipped and we can see beyond any shadow of a doubt that our identity, culture, heritage as Unionists ( or Orange Fascists ) as we have been recently described, will have no place in an all-Ireland republic.
Imperial Grand Master Wo Bro Phil Moffatt said
“This is a dark day for democracy and for the rule of law. The Secretary of State along with the Chief Constable have opened up pandora’s box and they will never be able to gain the ground which they have most miserably lost. As a result of their collective decision, the political process will collapse, how can it ever stand again, when the two pillars of Justice and governmental responsibility have disintegrated before our very eyes. We appeal to the Loyalist Community to be calm and exercise restraint, to remain within the law for the Justice of our cause will and must prevail. We salute the patience and endurance of the Portadown brethren and assure them of our prayerful support “
