THE president of Derry's chamber of commerce yesterday appealed to community groups and loyal orders in the city to negotiate in an attempt to reach agreement before the July 12th parade and August's Apprentice Boys parade, both of which are due to take place in the city centre.
Mr Ian Young's appeal followed an announcement from the Bogside Residents Group that it had applied to the RUC for permission to hold street demonstrations in Derry's city centre for one week, starting on July 6th.
Mr Donnacha Mac Niallais, for the group, said the demonstrations would go ahead if Orangemen marched down the Garvaghy Road in Portadown against the wishes of local people. The DUP, however, said the statement was a threat to the Protestant community in Derry.
"We hope that there will not be a necessity for our demonstrations, but if they do go ahead, our aim will be to provide a channel for a disciplined method of protest," said Mr Mac Niallais.
"If there is no agreement in Garvaghy Road, there will be a lot of anger and emotion in this community. We will give people an opportunity to vent their anger in a responsible manner if the Orangemen's wishes are forced on the residents of Garvaghy Road. Our parades, if they go ahead, will be peaceful. We are not being confrontational or provocative," he said.
However, DUP alderman, Mr William Hay, said the statement was a direct threat to Protestants in Derry. "This is deliberately orchestrated to threaten Orangemen who only parade in Londonderry on July 12th every five years. It is also a deliberate attempt to make life difficult for the August 12th parade. They simply don't want us to celebrate our tradition and culture.
"Protestants simply do not believe anything that Mr Mac Niallais says," Mr Hay said.
Mr Young said a deal was worked out between the opposing groups last year in Derry and he appealed for a similar agreement to be brokered this summer.
"If we can live in the same city and work in the same companies, the least we can do is talk about the issues which seem to both divide and unite us. This year, for every flashpoint, there should be a dozen ways to avoid conflict, but all of them involve dialogue, understanding and compromise.