Lagan Valley M.P., Jeffrey Donaldson said no one should be
in the business of giving credibility to the paramilitaries
no matter who they are.
Bro.Donaldson, speaking at Twelfth Demonstrations in Ballinderry
and Dromore, said this is why it is essential that the Orange
Order does not allow the paramilitaries to inflitrate its
parades or hijack legitimate protests as a means of flaunting
their aggression and engaging in displays of naked intimidation.
"The Orange Order stands for higher ideals than this
and must at every opportunity condemn the illegal activities
of the paramilitaries and of all those who engage in acts
of violence. There can be no room for equivocation lest the
Orange Order's reputation is dishonoured by some kind of moral
ambivalence".
Bro. Donaldson said the Portadown Orangemen had a just cause
in pursuing the right to return home along the Garvaghy Road.
"Their way is blocked because of the intolerence displayed
by republicans and because of the threat of violence posed
against the parade.
"It is the refusal of republicans to tolerate a culture
that is different from their own and to accomodate a 15-minute
parade once a year which has resulted in this mayhem every
summer. I want to see the parade go ahead, but violence can
have no part in bringing that about".
Equally, Bro.Donaldson pointed out, there should be no place
in the government of Northern Ireland for those who remain
linked to a fully armed terrorist organisation.
"The failure of the paramilitaries to deliver on the
decommissioning of their illegal weaponry continues to undermine
and destablise the political process. The I.R.A. has recently
opened up a few secret arms dumps for independent inspection,
but this does not in itself constitute decommissioning.
"The requirements for actual and verifiable decommissioning
are clearly laid down in the legislation passed by Parliament
and must be adhered to by all the paramilitary groups.
"In the near future, if the refusal of the I.R.A. and
others to decommission their illegal weapons is maintained,
there is no obligation upon all Unionist members of the Assembly
and the Executive to act in accordance with their pledges
and withdraw from the power-sharing arrangements which include
the I.R.A.'s representatives.
"Republicans cannot sit in power, ruling over education
and health and safety by day and then exert a rule of terror
on the streets by night. They must chose between democracy
and terrorism. The dual strategy of the 'armalite and the
ballot box' must be abandoned for good. If real peace is to
have a chance then the guns have got to go".
Bro. Donaldson said "the paramilitary groups on both
sides had pocketed all the concessions made to them and delivered
little in return.
"In fact, the paramilitaries have used the ceasefires
to regroup and to extend their evil influences in local communities.
"In many parts of Northern Ireland we see them marking
out their territories and increasing their criminal activities
which today include racketeering, extortion, smuggling, money
laundering and dealing in illegal drugs.
"Through murder, shootings, beatings and other more
subtle forms of intimadation they continue to destroy lives
and usurp the rule of law.
"To all of this the Government turns a blind eye and
continues to dish out the concessions in the form of prisoner
releases and accords poltical legitimacy to those who have
not even reached first base in terms of a commitment to exclusivley
peaceful and democratic means.
"Then when some of these terrorists re-engage in violent
activities or faluant their paramilitarism on the media stage
the same Government ministers wring their hands and deny any
culpability on their part".
Bro. Donaldson said that should the present Government arrangements
at Stormont collapse then Unionist politicians will be committed
to working with other democrats and with the Government to
devise a workable system of governance in Northern Ireland
on a par with the devlolved arrangements in other parts of
the United Kingdom,
"We cannot allow the extremists to create a political
vacuum through their failure to commit themselves to exclusively
peaceful and democratic means. We desire the polical stability
through the creation of accountable institutions of government
that can command the support and allegiance of the greter
number of law-abiding citizens from both sections of our community.
"It is also our desire to see a society where there
truly is mutual respect and understanding between our respective
traditions. Clearly, such respect for our Unionist heritage
is in short supply from republicans who haul down the Union
Flag from Government buildings, demand the removal of anything
that represents allegiance to the Crown and hammer away incessantly
at any vestige of Britishness in this part of the United Kingdom.
"At the same time they burn down Orange Halls on an
almost daily basis and use the threat of violence to deny
Orangemen their civil and religious liberty.
"We reaffirm our commitment to the maintenance of the
Union and to our British identity. We will strenuously oppose
by peaceful means the attempts by republicans to ethnically
cleanse our Britishness.
"We reassert our view that the Union provides the best
framework within which we can achieve peaceful and stable
society where diversity and civil and religious freedom can
best be accommodated. There is indeed a long way still to
travel on the road to a better future but that is one road
from which we must not be re-routed".
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