Editorial: Drumcree ruling is fair and an attempt to balance the rights of all involved

​The Parades Commission’s ruling allowing Orangemen to complete a Drumcree parade banned nearly three decades ago has been a rare and significant victory for the loyal orders.

​It is a fair, reasonable and logical outcome which has, for the first time in many years, taken seriously the rights of the Orange Order.

Much of this is down to how they and their representatives have conducted themselves throughout the legal campaign they have fought during the summer. Too often, unionists and loyalists complain that the system is unfair – yet fail to properly challenge it.

Through their new, much more strategic approach, the Orangemen of Portadown have secured a victory on two fronts. They have proven that they were not given a fair hearing by the Parades Commission in the past – and they have now secured the parade they have been asking for this past 28 years.

Now they – and more crucially their supporters – must make sure that the parade passes off without incident on Sunday. They must show the world the real face of the Orange Order – a Christian organisation at the heart of its communities across Ulster and beyond.

The Garvaghy Road residents have, as is their right, launched a legal challenge – so a parade is by no means certain until it happens.

And the courts are the right place to take complaints, not the streets.

The language of Sinn Fein has been deeply irresponsible.

A silent Orange parade is not “sectarian harassment” as its leader implied, and the Parades Commission’s decision was not “reckless”.

The Prime Minister Andy Burnham is right to say that this a matter for the commission and not politicians.

However, our local leaders – especially the First Minister – have a responsibility to respect this outcome and its attempt to balance the rights of all involved.