Ulster Unionist Councillor, Mark Cosgrove has questioned the timing and motivation of the Parades Commission`s latest determination about the peaceful nightly parades at Twaddell Avenue given that the first stage of the round-table Haass talks are ending this week.

Mr Cosgrove said:

“I have to question the timing and motivation of this determination. Why have they issued a determination such as this just as the Haass talks are ending this week?

“There have been 71 nights of peaceful parades, with many thousands of people in attendance to show their solidarity and disgust at the Ligoniel lodges not being allowed to parade home on the 12thof July, with not a single arrest. Instead of welcoming these facts, the Parades Commission`s determination, issued against a veil of secrecy and no transparency of process, will leave people feeling yet again that they are completely unbalanced when carrying out their duties.

“Unprovoked antagonism from the Parades Commission towards the Orange Order and the wider Unionist people only serves to create further division within the main traditions in Northern Ireland, at a time when there is an on-going process to find accommodation. However I would urge people to remain calm and for all parades and protests to remain completely peaceful.

“The only fair and just solution to this impasse is for the three Ligoniel Lodges to be allowed to return home past the 300 yards of the shared space of the Ardoyne shops, where generations of Unionists and Nationalists have worked together and shopped together without any difficulty. The Ulster Unionist Party is ready to play its part in achieving that. We want to be focussed on creating jobs, wealth and opportunity in North Belfast and in all of Northern Ireland.”