Loyal order leader attacks RUC change

Main Black Institution demonstration sites

The leader of the loyal marching order the Royal Black Institution has attacked the government's plans to reform Northern Ireland's police force.

On the last major day of the Protestant marching season in Northern Ireland, Grand Master of the institution William Logan said the government should not press ahead with plans to reform the Royal Ulster Constabulary because there was not yet peace in Northern Ireland.

Referring to the loyalist feud in west Belfast, which has resulted in the deaths of three men, Mr Logan said: "The violence of paramilitary groupings in recent months and during these past few weeks and days certainly does not indicate to me that a peaceful society exists in Northern Ireland."

Marchers travelled to six demonstration sites

He was speaking at a demonstration in Banbridge, County Down, as up to 40,000 members of his organisation held parades around the province on Saturday.

Mr Logan accused the government of "capitulating to terror" and of pandering to the demands of violent organisations by "castrating the legitimate forces of law and order" before a normal society had returned to the province.

He said the "police and not the criminals" were being handcuffed.

The Northern Ireland Police Bill to reform the RUC is currently going through parliament.

Based on the Patten Report on the future of policing in Northern Ireland, it is aimed at making the force more acceptable to nationalists, although unionists have been angered by proposals to change the name and emblems of the service.

Parades re-routed

A number of the Royal Black Institution parades were re-routed on Saturday.

The Ballynafeigh branch of the loyal order was barred from marching along the mainly nationalist lower Ormeau Road in south Belfast by the Northern Ireland's Parades Commission.

Bands and black preceptory members were re-routed at Ormeau

The Protestant marching orders, the Orange Order and the Apprentice Boys of Derry, were also banned from marching through the lower Ormeau area by the commission in July and early August, following opposition from nationalist residents.

The commission, which rules on contentious parades in Northern Ireland, also placed restrictions on Black Institution parades on the Whitewall Road in north Belfast and behavioural restrictions on the Crumlin Road in north Belfast.

Parades in Castlederg, Armagh City, Keady, Dunloy, Castlewellan, Bellaghy and Strabane were also re-routed following opposition from nationalist residents who oppose the parades.

In County Down, 120 black preceptories and bands demonstrated in Banbridge.

Ninety bands and preceptories paraded in Larne, 90 Belfast preceptories and 60 bands paraded to Ballymena in County Antrim, while in Loughgall 80 preceptories and bands from County Armagh and East Tyrone held their demonstration.

Forty preceptories and bands from County Londonderry paraded in Tobermore, and 30 preceptories and bands from north and west Tyrone went to Beragh.