(Vatican Radio) Tens of thousands of Unionists from the Orange Order marched from
their lodges Thursday across Northern Ireland to take part in annual parades. The
Twelfth, as it’s known, commemorates King William of Orange's military victory on
July 12, 1690, over forces loyal to the deposed Catholic king of England, James II.
Hours
before the start of the daylong marches, riot police clashed with Irish nationalist
men and teens on the edge of the Ardoyne area of west Belfast, one of the flashpoint
areas for the parades.
This year a British government-appointed Parades Commission
has tried to defuse the clash by ordering the area's Orangemen to pass Ardoyne three
hours earlier than usual.
Lydia O’Kane spoke to Belfast based research analyst
Robin Wilson who says fundamentally sectarianism hasn’t been tackled on the ground.
“What’s
always going on is the background noise of sectarianism… nothing that was done in
the peace process has really done anything to change sectarianism on the ground which
is the fundamental Northern Ireland problem and which is reflected in the episodes
that will happen today in terms of the marches.”
He also says a huge amount
of money is being spent, in this marching season, on security as a result of these
tensions. Listen