Sir, - Very recently I visited the Garvaghy Road area. I was also there last year for two weeks as an observer with the Table Campaign after the Parades Commission banned the proposed return route from Drumcree church; and in 1997 when thousands of army and RUC members swarmed in at 3.30 a.m. and forcibly removed residents engaged in a peaceful sit-down protest at the junction of Ashgrove Road.
One cannot go into the centre of Portadown without taking a deep breath and running the risk of verbal abuse at best and physical abuse at worst. For the minority community in the town (the "nationalists") this means one thinks twice before going into the town centre to go to the bank.
Anyone who is concerned for people in abusive situations cannot turn a blind eye to what is happening in Portadown. The people of the Garvaghy Road area are living in extreme stress. The solicitor who represented the interests of the local residents' coalition has been murdered. As cosignatory of the Belfast Agreement, the Irish Government should consider organising an all-party delegation to the Garvaghy Road area to experience first-hand how the minority community in Portadown live daily. - Yours etc.,
Mark Doris, Station Road, Portarlington, Co. Laois.