Protestants Get OK to Hold March Near Irish Catholic Area

Facing threats of a standoff by Northern Ireland’s major Protestant brotherhood, authorities said Saturday that they would allow the group to hold a mass demonstration near hostile Catholic turf.

The Northern Ireland Parades Commission decision to lift its earlier ban came after leaders of the Orange Order protested, raising the possibility of an ugly standoff between the group and police. The demonstration is scheduled for Monday.

The Orangemen, who stage marches across Northern Ireland on July 12 to commemorate a 1690 Protestant victory over Catholics, welcomed the turnaround. Now its 20,000 Belfast members can parade to Ormeau Park, just across the Lagan River from the hard-line Catholic area of Lower Ormeau.

The fraternal group had insisted on the right to divert its biggest annual parade there to protest the commission’s decision to ban a smaller Orange parade at Lower Ormeau on Saturday morning.

After the commission refused permission Thursday, Orange leaders warned of a standoff if police blocked them from reaching the park. In its revised judgment, the commission said the Orangemen could march to the park if they approach from the farthest point from Lower Ormeau.

Catholics accused the commission of buckling under pressure but expressed hopes the Orangemen would stick to their word and disperse before dark without attacking police protecting Lower Ormeau.

Hopes of averting organized Protestant attacks on police and Catholics rose when Northern Ireland’s biggest Protestant paramilitary group, the outlawed Ulster Defense Assn., said it would work this weekend behind the scenes to keep the peace.

If Northern Ireland can get through July’s annual Protestant marches without the widespread street mayhem of recent years, it is likely to boost efforts to form a Protestant-Catholic government--the long-delayed heart of last year’s peace accord--later in the week.

“These next few days are going to be very difficult indeed,” said British Prime Minister Tony Blair, referring both to march-related tensions and to his hopes of getting the government formed Thursday.