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The Grand Secretary of the Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland,
Drew Nelson, has said the time is right for the Republican
movement to apologise for the murder of Orangemen and attacks
on Orange Halls during the Troubles.
"We believe that 311 members of the Orange Order were
murdered as a result of the Troubles," said Mr Nelson.
Of those, almost 200 were current or former members of the
security forces. Many were murdered simply because they were
members of the Orange Order.
"In the case of the Tullyvallen Orange Hall massacre
in 1975, the IRA burst into a lodge meeting and murdered five
defenceless Orangemen.
"Orangemen have served this country with honour and
great bravery and many have paid the ultimate sacrifice as
a result. We must not forget the important role they played
in protecting our community from terrorism. The role of Orangemen
serving the community during the Troubles must never be forgotten
or airbrushed out of history.
"The Republican movement has also orchestrated a campaign
of attacks on Orange Halls since 1989. There has been a clear
campaign since then to attack our buildings and on average
14 Orange Halls have been burnt per year - that is more than
one per month. In total there have been over 260 attacks on
our halls.
"The murders of our brethren and the attacks on our
halls are two unresolved issues from the Troubles that need
to be dealt with.
"Sinn Fein's continued justification of these murders
and their glorification of those who carried them out sickens
the vast majority of the Protestant community. Now is the
time for the Republican movement to condemn and apologise
for the murders of our members and attacks on our property.
Murder is murder and should be condemned by all.
"The Orange Order and its members need to hear a sincere
and unequivocal apology from the Republican movement."
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