Dr Mo Mowlam has appealed for calm after the Northern Ireland Parades Commission ruled yesterday that the Drumcree Orange march in Portadown on Sunday should be rerouted away from the Garvaghy Road.
The Secretary of State said violence on the streets "would serve the interests of no one. The decision was welcomed by nationalists, but Portadown Orangemen are threatening another stand-off.
The Secretary of State declined to comment on the Parades Commission decision because she could be asked by the RUC Chief Constable, Mr Ronnie Flanagan, to overturn the decision on the grounds of public order. But she said it was regrettable' that the commission had to make a decision.
Dr Mowlam said residents and Orangeman had five days to hold talks in order to reach accommodation and prevent violence.
The SDLP spokeswoman on parades, Ms Brid Rogers, said the rerouting decision was sensible and correct. She backed Dr Mowlam's calls for talks between residents and the Orange order.
Mr Dara O'Hagan of Sinn Fein welcomed the decision but residents remained sceptical about whether the Parades Commission's decision would be maintained.
Mr Breandan Mac Cionnnaith of the Garvaghy Road Residents' Coalition acknowledged there were fears among residents. But said nationalists would go ahead with plans to protest. Ms Jane Morrice of the Northern Women's Coalition urged the political parties to use all their influence to calm the situation.
The Workers' Party president, Mr Tom French, said the commission had no other option, but residents could make a large contribution to peace if they invited a small token number of Orangemen to parade back through Garvaghy Road.
Mr David Trimble, the Ulster Unionist Party leader and Orangeman, said the decision was a major setback for peace. He appealed to nationalist residents to in Portadown to show tolerance and allow Orangemen to march along Garvaghy Road.
In an open letter to the Garvaghy road residents' Coalition sent yesterday, he said residents had their part to play in delivering peace in Northern Ireland.
He continued: "The church service and the freedom to process on the main highway are important parts of the culture, identity and ethos of the Ulster British people, and that respect for such rights is central to the agreement."
While Mr Trimble acknowledged that residents might find the parade distasteful, making peace had required many to accept things that were distasteful. But "twenty minutes of tolerance is a small price to pay for peace and the chance to transform community relations."
Mr Trimble is due to meet the RUC chief constable , Mr Ronnie Flanagan, today to discuss the Parades Commission decision. The DUP Leader, the Rev Ian Paisley , said the decision was a sign that the British government would not safeguard the civil and religious liberties of Orangemen.
"The die is cast, the people of Northern Ireland now must face up to the fact that the agreement and all connected with it have joined a pan-nationalist front to finally browbeat the unionist majority into submission," he said.