N. Irish Trade Unionists Express Brexit Frustrations at Annual ‘Orange Order’ Marches
Thousands of pro-British trade unionists marched through Northern Ireland on Monday, in a ceremonial tradition fraught with heightened emotion, as post-Brexit settlements stir ill-feeling in the divided province.
Marching pipe and drum bands marched through the streets of the British-ruled Overseas Territory on the occasion of July 12, the anniversary of the Battle of the Boyne in 1690.
The battle saw Protestant King William of Orange defeat Catholic King James II and is celebrated annually by predominantly Protestant pro-British communities in Northern Ireland.
In Belfast, hundreds of musicians and members of the fraternal Protestant Orange Order marched in front of crowds of families waving Union Jack flags during celebrations that were scaled back due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Last year’s parades were cancelled, but on Monday they continued with smaller local marches.
Many of the union members marching are currently in political turmoil over a post-Brexit “protocol” for Northern Ireland, which they believe will pry the county from its place in the UK.
Since the beginning of the year, the “protocol” has effectively kept Northern Ireland – and its 1.9 million inhabitants – within the EU customs union and the internal market for goods.
The special arrangement prevented new infrastructure on the border with EU member the Republic of Ireland, a flashpoint in “The Troubles” 30-year sectarian conflict between union members and pro-Irish nationalists.
But many union members feel the “protocol” made a major concession to nationalists who orchestrated a slow shift towards a united Ireland and created a border in the Irish Sea.
At the march from Belfast, a band arrived with a banner that read: “North Belfast says ‘no’ to the Irish sea border”.
Anger over the protocol sparked more than a week of riots in April that spawned from unionized communities and spread to nationalist enclaves, injuring 88 police officers.
It was feared that the “march season”, which will peak on July 12, could herald further unrest.
Marches and related bonfires in the early hours of Monday passed without reports of violence, but signals remain in the union community that tensions are still high.
“We as people feel that we are being marginalized in our own country,” Orange Order protester Fraser Agnew told AFP as the demonstrations began in Belfast.
“We feel completely isolated and the British Government, Europe and the Republic of Ireland are all conspiring against us. So it creates a siege mentality that can be very dangerous.”
“Unionists are a little confused, they’re a little angry,” confided marcher Bobby Rainey.
“They are certainly angry with the protocol, with what they see as cheating by the English government.”
Britain’s Brexit minister David Frost has said London wants a “consensual approach” to resolving issues with the protocol, promising to set out the government’s approach before July 22.
(AFP)
