City parade decision criticised

Orangemen will pass Ardoyne Shops on 12 July

Sinn Fein has criticised a decision to allow an Orange Order parade to pass the flashpoint Ardoyne shops area of north Belfast on 12 July.

There was serious rioting at the scene last year.

Gerry Kelly said the decision by the Parades Commission was "very wrong" and should be reversed.

However, Ulster Unionist Fred Cobain said the commission could not have come to any other decision.

The Parades Commission has imposed certain restrictions covering band music and the conduct of supporters at the Ardoyne shops area on 12 July.

But Mr Kelly, an assembly member for North Belfast, claimed these had been "completely ignored" in the past.

"The real difficulty is that this is two parades through - correct it's Ardoyne shops - but it's a shorthand, it's three Catholic areas, Ardoyne, Mountainview and the Dales," he said.

"I think it is a very wrong decision in the present circumstances and certainly it should be reversed."

Residents' role

However, Mr Cobain, an assembly member for North Belfast said that people had a right to march, although residents clearly had "a role to play".

"We are not saying that we should march without talking to residents. We are adhering to everything that the Parades Commission wants," he said.

"We are always working towards peaceful parades. We know that dialogue is the only way forward. The North and West Parades Commission has been working for over a year at this."

The Orange Order's 12 July parades commemorate King William of Orange's victory over King James at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690.

The Parades Commission was set up in 1997 to make decisions on whether controversial parades should be restricted.