More than 100 loyalists were prevented last night from marching to Drumcree church by RUC officers in riot gear at Corcrain estate in Portadown, backed up by British soldiers. Despite numerous calls for calm and restraint during the day, the level of protests and attendant violence continued to increase across the North.
Corcrain estate is about half a mile from Drumcree church.
There was major traffic disruption in several parts of Belfast as loyalists erected barricades in support of the stand of the Portadown Orangemen. Road blocks were set up last night in Newtonabbey, Coleraine, Lisburn, Dungannon, Armagh, and Ballymena. A number of cars were hijacked and set alight and there were reports of petrol bombs being thrown at police.
Earlier, the Northern Secretary, Mr Peter Mandelson, had insisted that the threat, or the use, of loyalist violence would not force him to allow Orangemen to march on Garvaghy Road.
He called on the local community to support the police and said Orangemen should carefully consider the proposals of the Parades Commission. "I think it is a sensible way forward."
He described the violence attendant on Drumcree as "thuggery - nothing more, nothing less", and said he would not be coerced into allowing a parade based on such violence.
The Orange Order has yet to respond formally to the proposals from the Parades Commission that could create the conditions for an Orange parade down the Garvaghy Road in three to eight months time. Such a march might be possible if the Drumcree protests ended and if Portadown Orangemen entered into discussions with Garvaghy residents under the auspices of the South African mediator Mr Brian Currin, the commission said.
"Nobody, by force of arms, use of violence, by bullying and intimidation, is going to get any change of any decision, any law, any conclusion, that I, the Parades Commission or anyone else will have reached," Mr Mandelson said. "That is not the way we conduct our affairs in Northern Ireland and people should understand that."
The RUC Chief Constable, Sir Ronnie Flanagan, indicated that he would consider whether to take action against the UFF and LVF following the incidents in Portadown on Monday night. He told the BBC he would brief Mr Mandelson, about the incident.
Sir Ronnie described as "disgraceful" the scenes where masked LVF men fired a volley of shots at Corcrain on Monday night, cheered on by a former UDA prisoner, Johnny Adair, and several of his supporters wearing UFF T-shirts.
Mr David Jones, spokesman for the Portadown Orange district, said the order wanted peaceful demonstrations but it was not responsible for any violence that followed from the Drumcree protest.
The RUC rejected a claim by Mr Jones that police were heavy-handed on Monday night. The RUC said there was evidence of a "degree of orchestration" of the violence in the Portadown area.
The SDLP Minister of Agriculture and local MLA, Ms Brid Rodgers, said many decent Orangemen would be appalled at the trouble. "I don't think the Orange leadership can call people out and then wash their hands while paramilitaries are clearly operating and violence is increasing," she added.
It emerged last night that should the Drumcree deadlock continue beyond Sunday there could be a respite from the protest on the Twelfth as all Portadown lodges are to travel to Killylea for the main Armagh parade next Wednesday.
