POLICING ARRANGEMENTS for a loyalist parade in Co Antrim on Friday could lead to trouble, the DUP has warned.
DUP MP Jeffrey Donaldson said: “We’re looking at serious public disorder this weekend. It’s like watching a car wreck in slow motion.” He was speaking after leading a delegation to PSNI headquarters to discuss the annual parade at Rasharkin which has been restricted by the Parades Commission.
The Ballymaconnelly Sons of Conquerors Flute Band has permission to parade through Rasharkin but will not be permitted to make a return march through the village, thus passing a nationalist protest twice.
Mr Donaldson warned the restrictions could spark trouble.
“We can see this happening,” he said. “You can just tell . . . that this has the potential for huge public disorder.”
His party colleague, North Antrim Assembly member Mervyn Storey, added: “It is widely known that there is a small republican core in Rasharkin intent on violence.”
He pointed to trouble after last year’s parade as evidence of the potential for more disorder.
However, the band and unionists have been criticised for their stance.
Sinn Féin Assembly member Daithí McKay, who is also a member of the policing board, accused the DUP of adding to the tension.
He said the stance taken by the DUP “runs contrary to the mature position adopted by the residents’ association, who have been working strenuously to reduce tensions in the area”.