Garvaghy Road residents’ spokesman Breandán Mac Cionnaith has accused the PSNI of causing the Drumcree parade stand-off and challenged chief constable Jon Boutcher to meet local people.
Mr Mac Cionnaith was speaking shortly after he told Secretary of State Chris Bryant an Orange Order parade through the nationalist district “in any shape or any form would not be acceptable”.
Details of the meeting between British government officials and local residents were revealed by Mr Mac Cionnaith after he addressed a packed meeting at Drumcree Pastoral Centre on Tuesday night.
Speaking after the meeting, which was attended by Sinn Féin and SDLP representatives, Mr Mac Cionnaith was critical of the PSNI.
Breandan Mac Cionnaith
An assessment provided by the force was highlighted by the Parades Commission in a determination issued last week that allowed 35 Orange Order members to march through the nationalist Garvaghy Road area.
A major police operation was put in place after Garvaghy Road residents and supporters blocked the route of the parade at the weekend.
In its determination, the Parades Commission said the police had stated “they have no information that the parade will result in public disorder or damage to property if it proceeds along its notified route”.
The commission also said that “given their operational experience, the assessment of the police must be given significant weight in the consideration of the potential for disorder”.
Mr Mac Cionnaith, who has held a series of meetings with Irish and British government officials, said “the only person still left for us to meet, if he has the courage to meet us, is the PSNI chief constable.
“So, I will be waiting tonight and tomorrow morning for the chief constable to let me know when he is going to meet with us,” he said.
“Or, is he going to hide behind a wall of uniforms, of police in riot gear?”
Mr Mac Cionnaithn said he was sure Mr Boutcher knew what “questions were going to be posed to him. Have the courage and come and meet with us,” he said.
He added that “our main priority now is to see if the chief constable will meet us and let us know what his views are.
“Because he also has some questions to address, especially about his so-called security assessment that led us to being put in this position,” he said.
Earlier on Tuesday, Garvaghy Road residents launched a High Court appeal after an attempt to challenge the Parades Commission decision was thrown out last weekend.
Mr Mac Cionnaith said “it is obvious what we want to achieve through that legal action”.
“So, that’s another process that has been put into play here,” he said.
“The Orange Order and Jamie Bryson aren’t the only ones that can take legal actions.
“And we’ll leave that to the courts to decide.”