It is both depressing and concerning that attempts are being made to reignite a dispute over an Orange Order march in north Belfast which most reasonable people on both sides of our divided society believed had been resolved many years ago.
There was a prolonged period when confrontations over loyalist demonstrations in mainly nationalist areas frequently resulted in violence and even deaths, and had an appalling wider impact on community relations.
The Parades Commission faced a huge task when it was first established in 1998, after the massive upheaval over the Drumcree conflict in Portadown, but it looked patiently at all the problems and eventually succeeded in creating a greatly improved climate.
While it was relentlessly criticised by the Orange Order, and often left nationalists perturbed, it was able to set out a clear set of guidelines which explained all its decisions over sometimes complex matters.
The only serious issue to arise for more than a decade was in north Belfast, where considerable tensions surrounded an Orange march along the Crumlin Road past Ardoyne and other nationalist districts on July 12.
A ruling in 2013 that the Orangemen could parade from Ligoniel into the city centre in the morning but would be prevented from following the same route in the opposite direction later in the day was followed by large-scale rioting.
Loyalists even set up a protest camp in nearby Twaddell Avenue, producing another flashpoint, and the major policing operation which was required as a result ran up a bill stretching into tens of millions of pounds.
Eventually, an understanding was reached in 2016 which meant that a group of nationalist residents would not object to a morning parade and the Orange lodges would place what was described as a “voluntary moratorium” on the return leg in the evening
It was a common sense outcome which should have provided a permanent solution, but relationships deteriorated and, with both sides accusing each other of bad faith, the Orange Order said last week that the deal was off and it would be applying for another evening march.
Every effort must be made to encourage renewed dialogue, but an evening march past Ardoyne next month cannot be regarded as an option
There will inevitably be a sense that a degree of grandstanding is accompanying the UK general election campaign, and that Orange figures are setting out to test the resolve of newly appointed members of the Parades Commission.
It is essential that the commission stands firm and adheres to both the spirit and the letter of previous rulings which restored stability to the Crumlin Road in difficult circumstances.
Every effort must be made to encourage renewed dialogue between nationalists and Orange leaders later in the year, but an evening march past Ardoyne next month cannot be regarded as an option.
