The Alliance Party is recommending that a controversial Orange Order march in north Belfast on Friday be rerouted. The party's Assembly candidate in the area, Mr Glyn Roberts, said there were dangers of violence if the parade went ahead. Nationalist residents are opposing the march. Mr Roberts is urging the Parades Commission to reroute the "Tour of the North" parade, which takes place every two years. He said his party had tried its best to find agreement.
"It is with some reluctance that we have had to call for a rerouting of this parade but with the Orange Order refusing to meet with us, we were left with little choice," he said.
The Sinn Fein president, Mr Gerry Adams, said the parades issue could be resolved only by dialogue. "Sinn Fein, which represents nationalist and republican people, has always defended the right of Orangemen to march and will continue to do so. But the central point of our position is that the Orangemen must respect the rights of those communities who disagree with them."