Valerie Jones reports: "They're not giving up"

The Armagh County Twelfth parade, was to be held in the village of Killylea, but will now be held in Portadown, where marchers and local nationalists have clashed in the past.

The Twelfth is the main marching day in the Orange calendar, where all of the lodges from each county converge to march in one place.

The change of location was announced at an Orange Order rally held in Portadown on Monday night.

The move is a protest at the Parades Commission's decision to ban the Drumcree march from the nationalist Garvaghy Road section of the proposed route.

Portadown lodges have promised more protests this year

At the rally Orange Portadown District Master, Harold Gracey, attacked the Commission's Chairman Alistair Graham.

He said: ''I listened to a lot of nonsense from Alistair Graham this evening when he said we had done absolutely nothing in the last 12 months (to find agreement). Well that is absolute lies.''

Mr Gracey, who has been protesting against last year's re-routing of the Drumcree parade by staying in a caravan on Drumcree hill, said he will continue his protest until Orangemen walk along the Garvaghy Road.

UK Prime Minister Tony Blair held separate talks with Orangemen and nationalists in Belfast to try to find agreement over the Drumcree parade, which broke up without progress on Monday.

Harold Gracey told Orangemen at the rally that he would not talk face to face with Garvaghy Road Residents' Coalition spokesman Breandan MacCionnaith, but he said lines of communication were still open with Tony Blair.

He said: "The Prime Minister was sympathetic to us and I can assure you that he was sincere.

"We will try over the next few days if we're called down again, and he has said he will meet us at any time over the next couple of days, if it would benefit us any."

Protests promised

Orangemen from the Portadown District have already promised that parades and protests will be held nightly before and after the Drumcree parade, so thousands of Orangemen from county Armagh will march into an already volatile situation.

Portadown lodge official Gareth Watson said that there were plans for action "over the next couple of weeks."

Last year the Drumcree protest and the serious violence which surrounded it lasted for several weeks.

Church role criticised

County Armagh Grand Master Denis Watson, attacked the Church of Ireland Primate Robin Eames and the church Synod, for trying to attach conditions of good behaviour to the welcome Orangemen will get at Drumcree parish church.

Orangmen are due to march from the church after their annual service on Sunday.

Mr Watson expressed support for Drumcree rector the Reverend John Pickering who has refused to accept the church line, and says Orangemen are welcome at Drumcree church.

Mr Watson said, however, that trouble makers would not receive a welcome at Drumcree from the Orange Order.

Nationalists living near Drumcree said tension has been increasing as the Drumcree parade nears

One man told the BBC: "There has been loads of tension out here and intimidation. Every night they are down there protesting and I don't think things are going to get much better."