THE RUC will decide in the next few days if it will allow loyalist bands to parade past a Catholic church in Ballymena, Co Antrim, where a protest has been staged for five months.
The Harryville Residents' Association has applied for a parade to pass Our Lady's Church next Saturday at around the time of evening Mass. A spokesman said that 22 bands were due to take part in the two hour demonstration.
The SDLP has described the proposed parade as irresponsible and has said it will greatly heighten sectarian tensions. Loyalists have been staging a picket outside the church, in a staunchly Protestant area, since September. They are protesting at the action of nationalist residents in the neighbouring village of Dunloy who blocked several Orange marches last year.
The protesters have said that if an Orange march is allowed through Dunloy, they will lift their picket of the Harryville church. The organisers have said that Saturday's parade will start at 5.30 pm. and is due to finish at 7.30 p.m.
The SDLP's North Antrim representative, Mr Sean Farren, said that the parade would mark a serious escalation of the loyalist protest and would undoubtedly increase sectarian tension.
"To seek permission to hold a band parade in Harryville to coincide with the time of evening Mass at Our Lady's underlines the sectarian nature of the protests."
Mr Farren appealed to the organisers to think again. "If, as the protesters claim, they have legitimate grievances and are merely holding a peaceful protest, why plan an event that can only be seen as provocative?" he asked.
The parish priest at Our Lady's Church, Father Francis Mullen, was away yesterday and could not be reached for comment. Before Christmas, up to 200 loyalists took part in the protests outside the church but recently there has been only a handful of demonstrators.
The protests have been condemned by Protestant church leaders, including the Church of Ireland Primate, Archbishop Robin Eames; the Presbyterian Moderator, Dr Harry Allen; and the Methodist President, the Rev Kenneth Best.
Some observers believe that the protest will not end until the Orange Order is allowed to march through neighbouring Dunloy. The DUP leader, the Rev Ian Paisley, has been involved in negotiations to secure a parade there.