Parades Group delivers its first report

Friday 09 April 10

By Shauneen - Member of the Belfast WIMPS crew

The Parades Group were set up as part of the Hillsborough agreement to help tackle the controversial issue of parades in Northern Ireland. The working group is made up of three members from the DUP and three from Sinn Fein and has met every day for the past two weeks in consultation with the Orange Order and nationalist residents groups to deliver a resolution to the contentious issue. Nationalist residents, mostly in North Belfast, oppose the parades in their area whereas the Orange Order remains adamant that it is their right to march the traditional parade route. The document proposed by the group will be presented to the OFMDFM committee before going to the executive. The document is not yet due to be publicized which has raised concerns with both the Orange Order and the residents committee.