|
The Drumcree conflict or Drumcree standoff is an ongoing dispute over yearly parades in the town of Portadown, Northern Ireland. The Orange Order (a Protestant, unionist organization) insists that it should be allowed to march its traditional route to-and-from Drumcree Church (see map). However, most of this route is through the mainly Catholic/Irish nationalist part of town. The residents, who see the march as sectarian, triumphalist〔("Drumcree tension eases" ). ''BBC News''. 13 May 1999.〕 and supremacist, have sought to ban it from their area.〔("Big changes in character of Drumcree dispute" ). ''Irish Independent''. July 1998.〕 The Orangemen see this as an attack on their traditions; they had marched the route since 1807, when the area was mostly farmland. The "Drumcree parade" is held on the Sunday before the Twelfth of July. There has been intermittent violence over the march since the 1800s. The onset of the Troubles led to the dispute intensifying in the 1970s and 1980s. At this time, the most contentious part of the route was the outward leg along Obins Street. After serious violence two years in a row, the march was banned from Obins Street in 1986. The focus then shifted to the march's return leg along Garvaghy Road. Each July from 1995–2000, the dispute drew international attention as it sparked protests and violence throughout Northern Ireland, prompted a massive police/British Army operation, and threatened to derail the peace process. The situation in Portadown was likened to a "war zone"〔("Parade fervour turns country lane into war zone" ). The Guardian. 3 July 1999.〕 and a "siege".〔("Siege of Drumcree" ). BBC News. 5 July 1998.〕 During this time, the dispute led to the killing of at least six Catholic civilians. In 1995 and 1996, residents succeeded in stopping the march. This led to a standoff at Drumcree between the security forces and thousands of Orangemen/loyalists. Following a wave of loyalist violence, the march was allowed through. In 1997, security forces locked-down the Catholic area and forced the march through, citing loyalist threats to kill Catholics. This sparked widespread protests and violence by nationalists. From 1998 onward the march was banned from Garvaghy Road and the Catholic area was sealed-off with large steel, concrete and barbed-wire barricades. Each year there was a major standoff at Drumcree and widespread loyalist violence. Since 2001 things have been relatively calm, but moves to get the two sides into face-to-face talks have failed. ==Background== Portadown has long been mainly Protestant and unionist/loyalist. At the height of the conflict in the 1990s, about 70% of the population were from a Protestant background and 30% from a Catholic background. The town's Catholics and Irish nationalists, as in the rest of Northern Ireland, had long suffered discrimination, especially in employment.〔Mulholland, Peter. ("Drumcree: A Struggle for Recognition" ). ''Irish Journal of Sociology, Vol. 9''. 1999.〕 Throughout the 20th century, the police—Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC)—was also almost wholly Protestant.〔 Each summer the town centre is bedecked with loyalist flags and symbols. A loyalist arch is raised over the Garvaghy Road at the Corcrain River,〔 just inside the Catholic district. This is to coincide with the "marching season", when numerous Protestant/loyalist marches are held in the town. Each July there are five Protestant/loyalist parades that enter the mainly Catholic/Irish nationalist district: *The "Drumcree Sunday" parade from the town centre, to Drumcree Church, and back again. This is the biggest of the parades. Its traditional route was Obins Street→Corcrain Road→Dungannon Road→Drumcree Road→Garvaghy Road, but it is now banned from Obins Street and Garvaghy Road. *12 July parade. This involves a morning march from Corcrain Orange Hall to the town centre. The marchers then travel to a bigger parade elsewhere, return to the town centre in the evening, and march back to Corcrain Orange Hall. Its traditional route was along Obins Street, but it is now along Corcrain Road. *13 July parade. This follows the same format as the 12th parade. There is also a junior Orange parade each May along the lower Garvaghy Road at Victoria Terrace. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Drumcree conflict」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|