4th July 2003

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Hartley welcomes Springfield Road decision by Parade Commission

Belfast Sinn Fein councillor Tom Hartley has welcomed today's decision by the Parades Commission not to allow the Orange Order to return along the Springfield Road on the 12t of July as the only reasonable conclusion that they could come to but has said that given the consistent breaches of the Parades Commission determinations by the Orange Order they should not have been allowed to march on the Springfield Road at all.

Cllr. Hartley said,

`` Today's decision not to allow the Orange Order to return along the Springfield Road on the Twelfth was the only reasonable decision which they could have come to.

`` However, given that the marchers have continually broken the determinations made by the Parades Commission it is my belief that they should not have been allowed to march on the Springfield Road at all''.

`` The reality is that the residents of the Springfield Road have made an imaginative proposal in an attempt to resolve the marching issue and yet the Orange Order has still refused to enter into meaningful face to face dialogue. While today's decision is welcome we still see the Orange Order rewarded for their intransigence and the Residents punished despite their genuine attempts to resolve this issue''.

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