Portadown District LOL No.1

Media News 2008

Police must act firmly to halt arsonists

News Letter - Editors Morning View

The sectarian attacks on Orange halls are deliberately planned by republicans to provoke a violent response from loyalists and both the Government and the police have got to get real about tracking down those responsible.

Most of the recent arson attacks have been concentrated in Co Armagh, in unionist heartlands where the population is overwhelmingly Protestant, and it is clear that the strategy is to heighten tension and create community division.

Orange Order leaders, incensed at the assaults on their property, are very unhappy at the police failure to halt the continuing catalogue of incidents and they have a genuine complaint over bureaucratic procedures that have to be overcome for damage compensation claims to be paid.

PSNI Chief Constable Sir Hugh Orde has to sign off an official certificate accepting that the damage to Orange halls was caused by a terror group before compensation money can be paid and unnecessary difficulties are being experienced in processing these claims.

The fact that 28 Orange halls were damaged in arson attacks in 2007 should be enough motivation for PSNI commanders to put the matter at the top of their policing priorities.

The loyal orders have shown great restraint in the face of violent provocation, but there is a likelihood that if attacks continue and the PSNI is unable to apprehend the culprits, Orangemen may be compelled to guard their halls.

The Orange hall attacks are being blamed on dissident republicans, but this should not absolve Sinn Fein totally, particularly as that party engaged in a vicious campaign which sought to demonise the Orange Institution.

The republican movement rose to power at Stormont demonstrating open hostility towards the Protestant, unionist and Orange traditions and, undoubtedly, there are those within that circle who would know the identity of the dissidents engaged in this sectarian orgy.

Sinn Fein politicians have recently been condemning the targeting of Orange halls, but they must go further and cooperate fully with the police in a cross-community zero-tolerance approach that will bring an end to these attacks. 3rd January 2008 News Letter Editors Morning View

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