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UK government blocks Northern Ireland march after standoff fueled sectarian tensions · Best of: Features

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  UK government bloc's Northern Ireland march after standoff fueled sectarian tensions. This
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  article is being read by an automated voice generated by Everlet. London
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  the AAP. The British government has blocked a contentious march from taking
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  place in Northern Ireland after a two week standoff between groups that
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  so support the region's continued union with the United Kingdom and those
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  who favour reunification with the
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  public of Ireland. Northern Ireland Secretary of State Chris Bryant intervened Friday
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  night to ban the procession along Garvegee Road in Portadown, saying it
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  wasn't possible to find a compromise between the Union supporting Orange Order
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  and residents of the traditionally Republican area through which it wanted to
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  march. I've decided that it's not in they public interest for it
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  to proceed, and I've therefore banned the procession, Bryant said. The standoff
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  grew out of the traditional march held by Unionist groups during the
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  summer months to celebrate their Protestant roots and historic ties to the
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  UK. The marches have long caused tensions with the largely Catholic Republican
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  community, which says the are intentionally provocative and fuel conflict. Tensions flared
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  again this year after a court ruling seemingly paved the way for
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  they Orange Order to march down Garvegie Road for the first time
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  in almost thirty years. Garvegee Road was a notorious flashpoin the Republican
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  and Unionist communities in the years before the nineteen ninety eight Good
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  Friday Agreement largely ended the bloodshed in Northern Ireland known as the
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  Troubles. When Orange Order members gathered for their planned march on september
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  twenty seventh, the were blocked by Republican protesters, including First Minister Michelle
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  O'Neill, the Republican politician who leads Northern Ireland's regional government. The Tue
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  sides have been locked in a stalemate ever since, raising concerns that
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  the dispute could trigger a broader conflict in Northern Ireland. Bryant said
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  he held talks with both the Garvaggy Road residents and The
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  Orange Order but had been unable to find a resolution. I heard
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  the concerns of people on all sides, and I only regret that
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  we could not reach a compromise on a way forward, and that
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  many residents across Portadown have felt anxious and worried, he said. With
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  this in mind I call for all protests, rallies, and demonstrations to
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  be stood down. There is no excuse for a continued ratcheting up
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  of tensions. The Orange Ordor challenged Bryant's decision at the High Court
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  in Belfast on Saturday. Justice Denise McBride opened a hearing on the
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  matter, but adjourned it until Monday, saying the case was not an
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  emergency.