THE Grand Secretary of the Orange Order in Northern Ireland has urged Nicola Sturgeon not to introduce a Parades Commission - claiming it would be "biased" against Protestants.
Rev Mervyn Gibson, said the introduction of a commission in the mould of Northern Ireland would result in more “division” and “intolerance”.
He urged SNP ministers “not to dance to the tune of a small number of Roman Catholic protestors who don’t want a Protestant about the place”.
The First Minister said on Thursday that she was considering setting up a Northern-Ireland style commission following 14 arrests at Orange walks last weekend.
James Dornan (below), the SNP MSP for Glasgow Cathcart, raised the issue at FMQs and outlined his case in an article for The National on Sunday.
Speaking at Holyrood, Dornan noted reports of “disgraceful anti-Catholic singing during the Orange Order marches throughout Glasgow” and said at least three had marched past Roman Catholic churches, causing “great distress”.
He asked the First Minister to consider “the creation of a Parades Commission, similar to that in Northern Ireland”.
Set up in 1998, that Parades Commission has the power to cancel, re-route or amend marches, including by barring the playing of music or the banning of certain individuals from attending.
Sturgeon said she has instructed Justice Secretary Keith Brown to assess the merits of the proposal.
But Gibson told the Belfast News Letter a Scottish Commission would be biased and counterproductive, and using hate crime legislation would be fairer.
READ MORE: Wee Ginger Dug: The Orange Order and the Tories are two sides of the same coin
He said: “We think it would be a bad idea. It sustains division and here it used to reward the threat of violence.
“Parading by-and-large is a cultural activity of the Protestant community, thereby any body created to look at parades by extension has a bias against that community.
“Whereas hate crime legislation applies to all intolerance and bigotry, irrespective of race, creed or gender. We believe there’s enough laws to do with antisocial and hate crime.
“A Parades Commission only introduces another layer of unnecessary and unhelpful bureaucracy that encourages intolerance.”
Writing for The National, Dornan said: “Most of us will remember the annual battles at the Garvaghy Road and other places throughout Northern Ireland, so why don't we see this on our screens every year anymore? Because, not without some initial pain to be sure, they introduced a Parades Commission.
“I'm not saying this is a magic bullet; what I am saying is that it's worth looking at calmly. Moreover, for the life of me, I can't understand why anyone would fear it. Let's be clear here, in a democracy, people have the right to assembly and free speech.
“However, places of worship and other important places also have the right to be respected.”
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