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The Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland has condemned recent attacks
on Orangemen and their property.
Missiles were thrown at Orangemen taking part in the Whiterock
parade on Saturday and over the weekend sectarian slogans
were daubed on Greencastle Orange Hall.
In a separate incident, sectarian slogans were daubed on
the car belonging to an Orange Order chaplain, attending an
open air church service at Aghadavey, near Antrim.
The Orange Order said:
"There has been an upsurge in hate crimes against the
Orange Order in recent days. We believe that intemperate remarks
by leaders of the nationalist community have created an atmosphere
, which is seized upon by criminal elements to justify their
actions and attacks on Orange culture.
"Last November the SDLP's Social Development Minister
called the Orange Order 'sectarian' and a couple of weeks
ago the Deputy First Minister, Martin McGuinness of Sinn Fein,
talked about the 'sectarian provocation' of Orange parades.
"Remarks like these do not help the situation and we
would call upon nationalist and republican leaders to use
language more in keeping with their position in society."
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