Statement by TUV leader Jim Allister:
“Today’s determination by the Parades Commission defies logic. The parade on the morning of the 12th July passed off without incident. Why shouldn’t the Lodges be allowed to return home at a similar time?
“Additionally, the Commission claim in their determination that this is “not a traditional route”. This is utter nonsense given that the parade is designed to merely complete the journey home from the 12th celebration. Continue Reading…
Speaking at the weekend, after attending the protest on Woodvale Road in support of the Ligoniel lodges, TUV Leader, Jim Allister, said it was the malevolent Parades Commission which bore full responsibility for the daily protests and any resulting costs. Continue Reading…
TUV, itself not a participant in the Haass talks, which are restricted to Executive parties, has warned against any further erosion of unionist rights and traditions in consequence of the process.
Statement by TUV leader Jim Allister:
“I, for one, am most sceptical of the PSNI claim that they have arrested 3500 less people because of protests, most recently those at Twaddell Avenue. Sounds like excuses, excuses to me.
Statement by TUV leader Jim Allister:-
“When Douglas Bain was appointed as Assembly Standards Commissioner I called on him to resign from the Parades Commission because of the obvious conflict which could arise when investigating any complaint connected in any way to a parade determination. He refused and insisted on clinging to both jobs.
“Now, the predictable has happened. Mr Bain finds himself compromised by his Parades Commission membership and is having to duck out of an investigation he should be conducting and, instead is putting the Assembly to the extra cost of appointing someone else to act in his place.
“This has arisen in respect of my complaint against Gerry Kelly, arising from the Castlederg episode. Mr Bain has written to me as follows:- Continue Reading…
Responding to comments by the chairman of the Police Federation Terry Spence TUV leader Jim Allister said:
“Mr Spence’s comments calling for a suspension of all “contentious parading” is completely unacceptable. For a start, how does Terry Spence define contentious? Remember that the Apprentice Boys parade in Castledurg last Saturday was not “contentious” until Sinn Fein/IRA decided to make it so. Then, following a visit by co-First Minister McGuinness, they suddenly decided it wasn’t “contentious” any more and Republicans called off their protest in a cynical attempt to deflect attention from the celebration of terror they were organising for the next day. Continue Reading…
Condemning the Parades Commission’s decision to yet again impose restrictions on the return parade of the local Apprentice Boys Club in Rasharkin Jim Allister said:
“This determination denies the Rasharkin Apprentice Boys the right to walk their traditional route through Sunnyside Drive on their return parade and is yet another attack on Unionist and Protestant culture.
“The dismay felt within the Unionists and Protestant community in Rasharkin is palpable. Repeated attacks upon the Unionist community in recent years and even a bomb scare at the local Orange Hall on the night of a parade have, it will seem to many, been rewarded while Republicans are given the green light to parade in Castlederg, a town they repeatedly attacked.
“This parade has nothing to do with the celebration of murder and terrorism and yet the Commission has decided to impose restrictions. Continue Reading…
Statement by TUV leader Jim Allister:
“The peaceful and dignified protest by the Orange Order is to be commended. In the face of provocation and a farcical Parades Commission decision the Orange Order were able to channel Unionist anger into a peaceful protest.
“The huge turnout today demonstrated the strength of feeling within the Unionist community. It is time the powers that be took note of Unionist concerns rather than seeking to dismiss them or demonise those who express them.
“The presence of many Orange marshals and the production of literature making the Order’s intentions clear to all those who attended the parade and protest was an initiative which should be praised by people across the community.
Statement by TUV leader Jim Allister:
“The outrageous decision of the Parades Commission to ban the return parade passed the Ardoyne shops has understandable grabbed the headlines. However, the bizarre decision to also ban a parade in Castlederg due to take place before an 11th Night Bonfire also deserves media scrutiny.
“I have been contacted by members of Castlederg Young Loyalists Flute Band who are baffled and rightly outraged by the Commission’s decision to ban their parade along a section of a road which is overwhelmingly Protestant.
“There has been no controversy surrounding parades there in the past and the band suspect that the Commission’s decision is the result of pressure from Sinn Fein. I understand that a local Unionist politician has made representations to the Commission following news of the restrictions placed on the parade but these were dismissed. Continue Reading…
Condemning the Parades Commission decision to ban the Orange evening parade past Ardoyne, TUV Leader Jim Allister said:-
