Mo Mowlam: trying to resolve crisis

Mowlam's plea to the Orange Order

Mowlam Urges Orangemen: "Listen to Reason"

Speaking to reporters at Stormont Castle following a series of meetings with Orange Order leaders, Dr Mowlam said that no decision had been taken about whether the march would be allowed to take place.

"I recognise that tensions in both communities are increasing and people in both communities are in need of reassurance," Dr Mowlam said. "Let me say very clearly that no decision has yet been taken. We are continuing our efforts to find an accommodation that both communities can live with."

To the Orange Order, she issued this appeal: "For the good of everyone and for the sake of peace in the next few weeks, I urge those in the Portadown Orange to listen to those voices of reason."

Nationalist protestors on a roadside picket

Earlier hopes of a breakthrough were dashed when the Orange Order Grand Master, Robert Saulters, said that Portadown Orangemen had rejected the suggestion that their right to march be acknowledged but waived in the interests of peace. "I believe possibly a week ago it may have worked, but with the visit of the new Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern making comments on the internal affairs of Northern Ireland, certainly we are not happy with that," he said.

Mr Saulters was referring to Mr Ahern's statement, on a visit to Belfast this week, that the march be halted. However, Mr Ahern has stressed that he was not trying to provoke the Orangemen.

Security has been stepped up around Portadown

As efforts to resolve the Drumcree crisis continued, security was stepped up in Portadown. Police ran a cordon around the town, setting up checkpoints on several roads. The RUC said this was to ensure the security of the area's inhabitants, but it's also thought that they are present to prevent any major build-up of support for either the Orange Order or the residents of Garvaghy Road - the predominantly nationalist street where the march is due to pass.

Bingham insists the Orange Order wants a peaceful resolution

"We will sit up all night," says Bingham

Meanwhile, Portadown Orangemen were insisting on Friday night that a solution was possible. "We feel we can still reach an accommodation on the situation. We have told the Secretary of State we are available tonight and if it means sitting up all night, we will sit up all night," said the Rev William Bingham, County Grand Chaplain.

Garvaghy Road: Sunday's flashpoint?

And in a prepared statement, the Portadown Orangemen said that they had given assurances to the nationalist community on Garvaghy Road, promising that the marching bands would not play and that only one Union flag and two non-political standards would be carried. The statement concluded by saying that Sinn Fein and the IRA were trying to push the Orange Order into a confrontation with the RUC and the government.