The British government is considering a major programme of economic investment to meet the economic grievances of the residents of the Garvaghy Road area of Portadown. The proposal is one of a number of options discussed at weekend proximity talks aimed at resolving the Drumcree standoff.
Some progress was made at a 10-hour session of proximity talks between the residents and the Orange Order in Co Armagh on Saturday, according to sources close to the talks. A further session is expected to take place tomorrow.
Meanwhile, three Orange Order chaplains have resigned in protest at the organisation's handling of the Drumcree protest, and more resignations are expected. The Rev Robert Boyd, County Grand Chaplain of Tyrone, confirmed yesterday that several of his colleagues had resigned and more were thinking of doing so. Mr Boyd told BBC radio that he had not resigned but he had "serious doubts" about his position.
"I have spoken to several chaplains and some have already resigned, some have been reassured by the statement we issued, and there are some who are seriously thinking about it. People will be thinking long and hard," he said.
The option of resigning was discussed at a meeting of chaplains last week. Some chaplains declared their intention to resign immediately, but others adopted a "wait and see" approach.
The Orange Order is to hold a special meeting of its ruling Grand Lodge on August 1st to examine the repercussions of Drumcree. At Saturday's proximity talks in Armagh, residents' representatives pressed for measures to redress what they say is a serious economic imbalance between Catholic and Protestant parts of the town. It is thought the British government may agree to a package of economic incentives in return for movement on the parades issue.
The talks are chaired by Mr Tony Blair's chief of staff, Mr Jonathan Powell. Two facilitators, the former president of the GAA, Mr Peter Quinn, and the Presbyterian minister, Mr Roy Magee, act as go-betweens. The spokesman for the residents, Mr Breandan Mac Cionnaith, dismissed a report in yesterday's Observer which claimed the government was planning to scrap the Parades Commission and transfer its functions to the Assembly. Nationalist and Northern Ireland Office sources also expressed scepticism about the report.
The RUC yesterday removed a number of barriers in Portadown as a first step towards returning the town to normality. A spokesman said a significant police presence would be maintained in the area.
In Derry the Apprentice Boys' organisation announced yesterday that it and the Orange Order will take part in the Civic Forum, which is due to start on Wednesday. The forum, which was set up by a former SDLP Lord Mayor, Mr Martin Bradley, to help resolve the parades issue in the city, had been boycotted by unionists.
Meanwhile, the leader of the hardline Spirit of Drumcree group within the order, Mr Joel Patton, has accused the Orange Order leadership of "failing abysmally" to deal with the Drumcree situation.
"Is anyone going to call to account the people and the leadership who actually led us into a debacle this summer?" he asked on BBC radio yesterday.
Mr Patton admitted the publicity surrounding the standoff had been "atrocious" for the Order. It was wrong to link the killings of the three Quinn children to the situation in Drumcree, he maintained. "It was an act of violence that could have been due to paramilitarism, it could have been due to many things, but it certainly had nothing to do with the Orange Order."
The RUC says a number of people are still being questioned about the killings, but no one has been charged.
