New loyalist group formed in Portadown

A newly-formed loyalist civil rights group has announced its intention to resume street protests in Portadown, Co Armagh, this…

A newly-formed loyalist civil rights group has announced its intention to resume street protests in Portadown, Co Armagh, this weekend.

A spokesperson for the new group, to be known as the Concerned Loyalists of Northern Ireland, said the first demonstration would be held on Saturday, but he refused to divulge where it would take place.

"We have no intention of giving any prior warning as to where we will protest," he said.

"The location has been decided upon and it will become abundantly clear on Saturday."

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The group will be based in Portadown and intends to concentrate its activities initially in that area.

However, the spokesperson indicated it was hoped to form branches in other towns - such as Antrim, Ballymena, Lisburn and Larne - in an attempt "to mobilise support to prevent further erosion of the civil rights of the Protestant community".

He stressed that the Concerned Loyalists group was not linked in any way to the Orange Order or the ongoing Drumcree protest.

"We are first and foremost a civil rights group. Our aim is to highlight how the civil rights of Protestants are being eroded as a result of this republican-orientated peace process.

"Portadown itself is a prime example of that. We intend to picket businesses premises, places of worship and social facilities. " We also intend to expose completely the false propaganda myth regarding the so-called siege of the Garvaghy Road."

Portadown has been extremely quiet recently, following the peaceful outcome to this year's Drumcree parade which surprised many.

Shoppers have been gradually returning to the town centre and a degree of optimism was apparent within the business community as trade which had been adversely affected by the issues surrounding Drumcree began to pick up again.