The Garvaghy Road Residents' Coalition has called for direct talks with the Portadown Orangemen to begin immediately in an attempt to reach agreement about next year's parade.
The call from nationalist residents came as the Orange parade was prevented from returning down its controversial route yesterday.
"Up-front, face-to-face, direct dialogue should commence now to prevent a repetition of this situation in July 2000. The talking for next year should begin now," said the coalition spokesman, Mr Breandan Mac Cionnaith. Forcing the parade down the road would not be a solution, he added.
"If people want a local agreement in Portadown, that agreement will have to be brokered by local people, by the people who live in this town." That meant senior Portadown Orangemen coming into the same room and sitting down with coalition representatives.
However, the Portadown Orange Order District Master, Mr Harold Gracey, has ruled out direct negotiations with the residents and has pledged to retain a peaceful protest at Drumcree hill until the parade can march down the Garvaghy Road. Mr Gracey said yesterday he would "walk away" if there were violent clashes at Drumcree between protesters and police.
Mr Mac Cionnaith said Mr Gracey's words meant little as he had not abandoned the protest after the killing of the Quinn children, the RUC man, Mr Frankie O'Reilly, Ms Rosemary Nelson or Ms Elizabeth O'Neill. "So forgive me if Harold Gracey's assertions seem very hollow to this community."
He said it "lay within the gift of the Orange Order to end the campaign of intimidation, violence and murder being directed at the nationalist community in Portadown".
Two local nationalist politicians, Ms Brid Rodgers, of the SDLP, and Ms Dara O'Hagan, of Sinn Fein, complained about the behaviour of Orange lodges as they marched to Drumcree on Saturday night in support of the Portadown Orangemen.
"Bands stopped outside the church on the end of the Garvaghy Road and played The Sash in a very provocative way. The priest was almost forced to halt Mass," said Ms Rodgers.
An American woman was injured during Saturday night's marches. The woman, who identified herself as Shannon, was yesterday wearing a cast for a broken wrist and had a cut on her forehead. She claimed she was dragged into the parade and beaten by Orange Order members.
"I'm lucky to be alive," said the woman, who works in the New York and Washington offices of the Friends of Sinn Fein.
Ms O'Hagan said she was also concerned by the manner in which a 19-year-old youth on the Garvaghy Road was detained by the RUC on Saturday night. He was released later.
Mr Bill Flynn, chairman of the US National Committee on Foreign Policy, visited the community centre on the Garvaghy Road yesterday. He said he was in Portadown with other committee members to witness for themselves "Irishmen treat other Irishmen as harshly as they do here".
According to Mr Flynn, the Drumcree impasse was making a laughing stock of Northern Ireland and putting Christians of all kinds to shame. The peaceful parade by the Orangemen yesterday augured well for the future, he added. "But my fear is that it is not a sign of better things."