N. Ireland Protestant parade hits stalemate amid fresh talks

The UK's Northern Ireland minister Monday admitted that talks to overcome a dispute about a contentious pro-British Protestant parade through a mainly Catholic area had so far failed to resolve one of the region's worst crises in decades.

Minister Chris Bryant flew into Northern Ireland on Sunday seeking to negotiate an end to the standoff, which dragged into its second day Monday.

Thousands of people occupied a road in Portadown, southwest of Belfast, on Sunday to prevent the parade by 35 members of the Orange Order taking place. 

Several hundred protestors gathered along the road for the second consecutive night on Monday without blocking it, setting up gazebos and tea stations, many singing and playing music. 

"Our worst case scenario is that the police try and force it down the road, as they did around thirty years ago," Paul, a 55-year-old carpenter who did not want to give his family name, told AFP 

The procession along Garvaghy Road had been authorised for the first time in almost three decades by the Parades Commission, the independent body that regulates contentious marches in Northern Ireland, and also won the backing of the courts.

"I wish there'd been a solution last week but there hasn't been a solution so far," Bryant told reporters after his talks.

"It's tantalisingly just a bit far away at the moment, but we're working on it."

Residents' representative Breandan Mac Cionnaith said after meeting Bryant that the residents would be open to a mediation process but want an international mediator.

"We are up for it, if the mediation comes along and the right mediator is there," he told reporters Monday in Hillsborough, west of Belfast.

An Orange Order delegation also held an hour-long meeting with Bryant, describing the talks as "very constructive and detailed".

Talks are expected to continue Tuesday.

The Orangemen had made another attempt on Monday to complete the procession at around 4:00 am (0300 GMT) before being stopped by a line of police vehicles.

Five members tried again later Monday morning. After being refused passage, they removed their ceremonial collars and approached the police line as private individuals, but officers again stopped them.

A further unsuccessful attempt was made later Monday.

'Symbolic and heartfelt interest'

The Orange Order is a pro-British Protestant organisation that takes its name from William of Orange, a Dutchman who seized the English, Scottish and Irish throne from Catholic King James II in 1689.

Northern Ireland First Minister Michelle O'Neill, from the Irish nationalist Sinn Fein party, declared Sunday's blockade a "victory" for residents opposed to what she called sectarian intimidation.

Her presence at the blockade drew fierce criticism from the opposition, however.

No violence, arrests or injuries have been reported during the standoff, which has seen a major security operation involving armoured vehicles and riot police.

Bryant said he had to return to Liverpool Monday for the Labour Party conference, but would return to Belfast on Tuesday to continue the talks.

The Drumcree parade, which last went ahead in 1997, holds "huge symbolic and heartfelt interest", DUP politician Jonathan Buckley told local radio.

"The particular Drumcree parade route that goes along the Garvaghy Road is one of the first ever church parade routes in the foundation of the Orange Order," he added.