Direct dialogue is the only way to achieve agreement on Drumcree, the SDLP's Ms Brid Rodgers said yesterday. Ms Rodgers criticised the Orange Order for "failing to show leadership" and choosing a time of seasonal good will to "heighten tension" and "sharpen divisions".
When people talk "things happen", said Ms Rodgers, an Assembly member for Upper Bann. "Can the Orange Order not learn from the events of Good Friday and indeed last Friday, when agreement was reached on North-South bodies and the establishment of 10 executive departments, which prove that dialogue and negotiation can lead to accommodation despite deeply held and conflicting views?" she asked.
She was speaking after about 5,000 Orangemen paraded in Portadown, Co Armagh. Relations between loyalists and nationalists appear even more polarised. Up to 200 residents stood behind police in riot gear in front of St John's Catholic Church at the junction of Garvaghy Road and Dungannon Road on Saturday to watch the Orangemen head for a carol service at Drumcree church.
She said: "Is it not time for some responsible leadership in the Orange Order to call a halt to the destructive and reckless behaviour which is poisoning the atmosphere in Portadown and damaging the commercial life and diverting much-needed resources for health and education to the funding of yet another security operation?"
A helicopter flew overhead during the parade after the Parades Commission again banned the Orangemen from marching down Garvaghy Road. Large numbers of troops reinforced RUC lines around links to Garvaghy Road and the Tunnel areas. Units from the Parachute Regiment, the Royal Military Police and the Royal Irish Regiment were present.
During the 45 minutes it took the parade to pass the nationalist estate, there was jeering and whistling from all sides and a couple of fireworks were thrown at nationalists. The participation of a "colour party" from the South Antrim Ulster Volunteer Force in paramilitary uniform angered nationalists. One woman said: "It is an insult to local Catholics who have been murdered by loyalists." Ms Rodgers said their appearance could "hardly be described as a peaceful sign of good will to nationalists".
Local nationalists criticised the security operation and accused the British government of breaking its promise to throw a "ring of steel" around Catholic areas during the rally.
Mr Breandan Mac Cionnaith, of the Garvaghy Road Residents' Coalition, said loyalists had been intimidating local Catholics throughout the afternoon. "The Prime Minister's chief of staff, Jonathan Powell, promised us action to prevent the intimidation and harassment of Catholic families, but they have broken their promises," he said.
He questioned why at only 1.30 p.m. - less than an hour before the parade was due to reach the junction - a convoy of British army and RUC armoured cars rolled down Drumcree Road. In minutes the security forces erected barricades less than 100 yards from Drumcree church.
Nationalists gathered on Garvaghy Road from as early as 12.30 p.m. Three children kicked a football about in an attempt to keep warm.
The "good will to all men" was conspicuously absent, with some bands stopping opposite RUC lines to play The Sash for several minutes. A lone Orangeman waved an Ulster flag.
"They shouldn't be allowed to stop there. It's clearly provocative. The police should move them on, but we are hemmed in again," said a bystander, Ms Donna O'Hara.
Sinn Fein's Mr Francie Molloy criticised the playing of The Sash. "We were told this was a carol service but I don't remember The Sash being included as a carol. The Orangemen have failed to enter into real negotiations in a bid to resolve this issue."
Gerard, who declined to give his surname, said Catholics living in the Obins Street and Craigwell areas felt even more vulnerable than nationalists living on Garvaghy Road. "The Orangemen should have been moved off the hill in July. It shouldn't have been allowed to drag on for so long. It's a joke. The Orangemen are breaking the law - the Parades Commission made a decision."
As the parade disappeared towards Drumcree church, a chorus of "We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year" from nationalists followed it. But the mood, as Orangemen passed Garvaghy Road on their return, was more tense, with some Orangemen letting off fireworks. A standoff developed when Orangemen confronted RUC lines at the estate. Residents moved back, but after several minutes things ended peacefully.
Six more parades are planned in the Portadown area over the Christmas and New Year period.