Drumcree stand-off now likely to continue until marches on July 12th

ALL the indications are that the stand-off at Drumcree in Portadown will continue at least until Friday's July 12th holiday, the most important day in the Orange calendar.

Across Northern Ireland the Orange Order, unionists and loyalists held protest marches and blocked roads Violence erupted with lorries and cars hijacked and burnt out or moved in to block road in Portadown up to 10 roads were blocked off initially and five vehicles hijacked and set on fire.

At Drumcree, on the out skirts of the town, tension continued to mount during the afternoon when British army engineers moved in to place cement blocks and barbed wire down at the "front line" between marchers and police ranks.

On Sunday night, the engineers put in more barbed wire in the fields around the church and leading to the nearby Catholic housing estates. There had been sporadic fighting as well when police came under attack by the crowd and stones, bottles and firecrackers were thrown. The police responded by firing flares into the air and 17 plastic bullets, and moved in and pushed the crowd back.

Two people were injured. One of them was in intensive care in hospital and was describes "ill but stable".

When the situation wads ginning to get uglier the rector of Drumcree parish, the Rev John Pickering, appealed over the tannoy to people to stop throwing stones.

The DUP leader, the Rev Ian Paisley, called for calm. "This is a hard struggle and we will only come through by unity. We're not here to play a game but to save the country", he said.

He assured the crowd that "there will be peace and quiet tonight" and added that he and the Ulster Unionist Party leader, Mr David Trimble had been meeting and "we plan to work together in regard to the future".

He told them that they would find a lot of things happening later on yesterday. His prediction proved true as Orangemen and women blocked roads in towns across the North.

As the night progressed the crowd dwindled to about 300 and people wrapped themselves in sleeping bags and slept in the graveyard beside the Drumcree church.

At 11 a.m. yesterday there was a small crowd at the Drumcree stand off. Reports came in that two cement block lorries had been hijacked from a Catholic owned yard. One was used to block the Edenderry area of the town and another was burnt.

Protesters blocked roads into the town centre and petrol bombs were thrown at the British army and police who moved in to clear them. The police fired plastic bullets and there were angry scuffles but the police and army took control of the city centre again.

Shops in the town began to close at noon. Motorists found it difficult to get into the town because of roadblocks, some of which remained in place. At the Edenderry roundabout police rerouted cars where one of the cement brick lorries blocked the road.

Back at Drumcree the situation remained calm for much of the morning. Mr Trimble came down to the barbed wire in the field to talk to journalists. He appealed to loyalists not to allow themselves to be manipulated into violence, and said their ceasefire must hold "no matter what the difficulties".

He said the RUC Chief Constable's motives "must be questioned" in the decision he made to stop the parade going down the Garvaghy road. He added that the Orange Order had done its best maintain calm and restraint but it was more difficult "when the hours of darkness come".

Father Eamonn Stack of the Garvaghy Road Residents' Association said there were 50 big parades in Portadown every year and "in our area we just want a bit of space. I understand their traditions and traditions are hard to be broken. They have to grow with time and that's not what's happening".

Mr Trimble said, however, that this was the only parade that went through the area now, where before there had been seven.

Trouble flared again at 2.40 p.m. when British army engineers moved in with trucks to put cement blocks and barbed wire down at the front line. There were angry scenes when riot police pushed the protesters back from the graveyard, to prevent stone throwing while the army put the barricade in place.

Mr Pickering told them that the police were "reorganising" themselves and were not trying to push the "brethren" back up to the church. Mr Trimble stood on the front line and appealed for calm.

Eventually tensions eased and the scene became almost picnic like as protestors, police and media sat about in the fields waiting for what would happen next.