Sir, - As an American citizen with proud Irish roots, I've watched the troubles surrounding the marches for the past few years. Last year, I was in Portadown and saw the conflict for myself. Watching the trucks and soldiers line the Garvaghy road to force the march through the neighbourhood was unbelievable. The only comparison I could draw was the US Army leading a march of the Ku Klux Klan through an Indian reservation.
After seeing the division among the Protestants in Northern Ireland's assembly vote, it's clear that the true barrier to peace in Northern Ireland is not the IRA or any militant faction thereof, but a bunch of bigoted Unionists who've forgotten which island they're on. - Yours, etc., Kevin Harley,
Seattle, Washington,
USA.