Rank-and-file Orangemen in Portadown have reacted angrily to the suggestion that the British government intends to appoint a member of ACAS, the mediation agency, to act as a conduit to try to resolve the ongoing Drumcree parade dispute.
The move by the British government follows a series of unsuccessful "proximity talks" between representatives of the Garvaghy Road Residents' Coalition and the Orange Order in Portadown.
At present, policing the Orange protest at Drumcree and the associated street protests in Portadown is costing the Northern Ireland Office £10,000 a day. Community relations in the town are at rock bottom and the government is anxious to resolve the issue before the 1999 marching season begins.
Although the leadership of the Orange Order gave a tentative welcome to the proposal, members in Portadown have rejected it.
Speaking after a church service in Drumcree yesterday, one Orangeman said: "It does not matter who the government appoints. The bottom line is the parade must go down the Garvaghy Road. The officers of the Portadown Orange District cannot accept any compromise deal on this issue without the consent of the entire membership of the district. To expect us to compromise now after keeping the protest going for over seven months is totally ludicrous".
The Garvaghy Road Residents' Coalition yesterday refused to comment on the latest government proposal. Its spokesman, Mr Breandan Mac Cionnaith, said: "We will wait until we get the full details of the government's latest proposal before commenting."
A further loyalist rally in support of the Drumcree Orange protest is scheduled to take place in Portadown next Saturday.