It is critically important, with the prospect of a drawn-out stand-off, that efforts are redoubled to find a compromise solution on the ground at Drumcree. A situation has now come about which is inherently unstable and perhaps even potentially lethal. It has to be defused.
The prospect of seeing the political progress of recent weeks being undone on the Garvaghy Road is unacceptable. At this writing, for all that they may have congregated illegally in front of the security force barriers, the marchers' protests have been generally peaceful and dignified, as the Secretary of State, Dr Mowlam, has acknowledged. The Orange Order is entitled to credit for ensuring that the atmosphere has so far remained relatively calm at Drumcree. Spokesmen for the order say that they will stay in position indefinitely until they are allowed to walk their traditional route. Tents and facilities are being erected and rosters drawn up to ensure a continuing presence. Such a stalemate could go on for days, even weeks. It will be found, of course, that the British army and the RUC will be just as patient and that after a short while, living in the open is uncongenial. Some in political authority, exasperated by people who deny the legitimacy of the Parades Commission and who refuse dialogue with the residents, may think it just deserts to leave them where they sit.
That must not be allowed to happen. A prolonged stand-off would become a focus of resentment and grievance and would offer an excuse for violence to those who would choose to make it so. It would give the more militant members of the Garvaghy Road residents the excuse they need to keep their neighbours in a state of sustained tension. For as long as it would go on, it would be likely to provoke passions elsewhere, with the innocent and the uninvolved among the probable victims. Already last night, outbreaks of violence were being reported from several areas around the North.
Political leaders from both communities have insisted that the difficulties at Drumcree and along the Garvaghy Road are peculiarly local. The will to accommodation and compromise which was evidenced in the referendum and in the Assembly elections is not matched, in this instance, at local level. The residents, in particular, have nothing but bad memories - of 1996 when the police buckled under the threat of Orange numbers and of last year when the strength of the security forces was turned upon the local community to force the march through. But yesterday has shown the resolution of the British government and the RUC to stand firm at this point. The Parades Commission, in the absence of a negotiated compromise on the ground, rightly adjudicated that the entitlement to march is outweighed by the entitlement to peace and security in one's home. The authorities have given effect to the commission's decision in a manner which can leave no reasonable observer in doubt as to their resolution.
These are changed circumstances and those who live on the Garvaghy Road should now consider their response to them. They too must be conscious of the needs and of the good of the wider community. Proposals were floated in the run-up to the weekend for a package of measures which would demonstrate the authorities' commitment to meeting the particular needs of the residents and of the wider nationalist community in the Portadown area. With the parade firmly halted outside the security barriers, the residents and - arguably more importantly - those who exercise influence with them are in a position of unaccustomed security and strength. They can afford to be flexible at this point and they should respond to some of the more imaginative proposals which have been conceived. A prolonging of this crisis can only put life and limb at risk.