As tensions rise across the UK over calls for independence in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, the British Prime Minister called for calm in Northern Ireland on Sunday after a contentious parade was given the go-ahead by the High Court in Belfast during a late-night sitting.
Thousands of protesters, many wearing balaclavas, gathered to block the marchers from the Orange Order, a group hugely supportive of Northern Ireland being part of the UK. And others in favor of unification with the Republic of Ireland. The march was the first time in almost 30 years that an Orange Order parade has been allowed to go down Garvaghy Road.
Burnham called for “calm on all sides”, saying Northern Ireland had made “big gains” and that he did not want to see the situation go backwards.
Fireworks were set off nearby about five minutes before the parade was due to start at 8 am. Protesters were warned over a loudspeaker that they could be arrested for taking part in an unlicensed counter-parade.
The road was a notorious flashpoint before the Good Friday Agreement of 1998 largely ended bloodshed that left 3,600 people dead, some 50,000 wounded and thousands bereaved. In the years before the agreement, there were violent clashes on Garvaghy Road over several summers and requiring major security operations.
Northern Ireland and its wish to be with the Republic of Ireland is not new. Northern Ireland remained with the United Kingdom when the rest of Ireland won independence a century ago. Ireland, with a majority of Catholics, didn’t want to be with the UK, as England has officially separated from the Catholic church. Irish people who were Protestant unionists wanted to stay part of the UK.
Mary Lou McDonald, the president of Sinn Féin, the party historically linked to the Irish Republican Army, said the people of Garvaghy Road would “not be drawn back to the past."
“This is madness," she said. “This, in fact, is primitive treatment of any community in the year 2026. It is intolerable, and it will not be tolerated.”
Gavin Robinson, the leader of the Democrat Unionist Party, the largest pro-UK party in Northern Ireland, called out Sinn Féin leaders for inflaming the situation.
“The rule of law cannot apply only when Sinn Féin likes the outcome,” he said. "Our institutions are founded on respect for the police, the courts and the rule of law.”
The march was given the final go-ahead at a court hearing which concluded at 2:15 am Sunday.
Welsh First Minister Rhun ap Iorwerth said a growing number of people believe the Westminster system is no longer working, and argued that power should be brought closer to communities. Scottish First Minister John Swinney said that their discussions marked an important moment in debates about the future of the United Kingdom.
Northern Ireland First Minister Michelle O'Neill said constitutional change was gaining momentum, with O'Neill saying Westminster would not be able to halt what she described as an unstoppable tide of change.
(With agency inputs from PTI and Reuters)
