The leadership of the Orange Order is running against the mood of the public and of many of its members, according to the Sinn Fein leader, Mr Gerry Adams.
Mr Adams said he was disappointed that the Orange Order had failed to respond "positively" to the situation following the deaths of the three Quinn children. "Orangeism is out of step with the mood, out of step with the times and out of step with the imperative to talk and to make sure 1998 is the last year we face this crisis."
He praised the residents of the lower Ormeau Road for the "magnanimous" scaling down of their protests, "even against a background of intimidation and violence".
"The sooner the better we look to the future and bring this shame, which is annually visited upon us, to an end in a way which upholds the rights of both sides.
"The Orangemen should lift the siege on Garvaghy Road; they should just go home. If they're not going to do that, then they should enter into dialogue in a way that uplifts and upholds their rights as well as people in the victim communities."
Asked if he believed the Orange Order was now a weaker organisation, Mr Adams said it still had considerable influence within the RUC, the judiciary, the civil service and elements of the business community. Orangeism was "extremely resilient".
Asked about remarks critical of him made by the Rev Ian Paisley, the Sinn Fein leader said all political leaders, but especially those engaging in "strange quasi-demagoguery", needed to review their position.
"Those who engage in anti-Catholic rhetoric, those who talk about the anti-Christ, those who talk about the purple whore of Rome, who engage in this old-fashioned language of sectarianism cannot free themselves from a responsibility that while they're engaging in such a way at one level, other people at another level throw petrol bombs at other Catholics."
Asked if the residents of Garvaghy Road should make a magnanimous gesture in response to the weekend deaths, Mr Adams said that was for the residents to decide.
