A SCALED DOWN July Twelfth parade along Portadown's Garvaghy Road would be acceptable if agreed by both sides, provided there was no triumphalistic behaviour by Orangemen, the president of the Workers' Party, Mr Tom French, has said.
He said many people on the Garvaghy Road would have been "quite happy" last summer for Orangemen to parade on the same basis as in 1995 when they marched silently past protesters who stood with their backs to them.
Mr French was speaking to The Irish Times after he delivered the keynote speech at his party's Northern Ireland regional conference in Belfast on Saturday.
He said Garvaghy Road residents received "great credit" for their decision in 1995 to allow the Orange march to proceed after a 47 hour stand off.
However, the behaviour of "the dancers of Drumcree", the UUP leader, Mr David Trimble, and the DUP leader, Rev Ian Paisley, was a big factor" in the prevention of any agreement last year.
"I believe that the Garvaghy Road residents, if they allowed the march to proceed on the same basis as it proceeded two years ago, that would be acceptable all round as long as there's no triumphalism, there's no ranting and raving and shouting of slogans and no celebration of the fact that the Orangemen get through," he said.
"If the Orangemen got walking through, that would be a concession by one side. If the Orangemen behave themselves in a proper manner and don't become triumphalist as soon as they get through, that would be a concession on their part."
Mr French said another option to resolve the issue was for Orangemen to "voluntarily give up what they see as the right to march through an area where it's obvious the people in general don't want them".
Mr French said people on both sides of last summer's stand off had been "manipulated".
He said Sinn Fein activists "manipulated" the Garvaghy Road residents association and "hyped" people up to believe that there would never be another parade along the Garvaghy Road.
The Garvaghy Road Residents Coalition has rejected suggestions that its committee was manipulated or controlled by Sinn Fein, following last week's RTE Prime Time programme claiming Sinn Fein involvement.
Mr French emphasised he was not suggesting that Sinn Fein members in the area were not entitled to have their opinions heard and be part of the residents association but, he said, if contentious marches were left purely to local people to decide in conjunction with mediators from the Orange Order, the problem could be resolved.
Mr French said he was willing to meet Orangemen and Portadown residents "if it would do any good".