Leadership: Not Much of it About: Billy Joe.

LEADERSHIP AND LEARNING ARE INDISPENSIBLE TO EACH OTHER.
John Fitzgerald Kennedy.

In the aftermath of the debacle that was on show in the evening of the annual 12th July celebrations–for once, due to the weather we did have a Glorious Twelfth–questions are again raised about the calibre of individuals at the heirarchy of the Orange Institutions.  In the immediate wake of the preposterous and illogical decision from the Parades Commission to ban the Ardoyne Lodges from the second leg of their parade along the Crumlin Road, the Orange Order called for peaceful protests.  As is their right.  However–and not just in retrospect–it is inconceivable that those who formulated that response, surely must have realised that the chances of peaceful protests actually happening were minimal. 
Take into account the occasion–the heightened tensions around the ban which is only the latest in a long line of rebuffs towards the Protestant/Loyalist community–the amount of marchers and spectators who would attend any such protest whether they were asked to or not.  And dont forget in the early years of Drumcree and subsequent protests the Orange Order have been glad of assistance from non OO members.  Indeed in the case of Drumcree only for the “help” of outsiders the official protests would have dwindled into the letter presenting sham that it eventually became after the initial year.
Predictably after the first nights rioting at the Woodvale and to a lesser degree in East Belfast the Orange Order showed their immaturity and ineptitude by firstly claiming that The Twelfth would never be over until the Ardoyne Brethern had returned home.  When I visited the flashpoint in the early hours of the 13th morning there were stil plenty of protestors about but predictably no Orangmen–at least not in an official capacity.  And many of the rank and file Orangemen who were there expressed a frustration and anger at the lack of leadership being shown.
Earlier, in East Belfast, I witnessed at first hand the shameful attack launched from the Short Strand towards a road that was jam packed with men, women and many hundreds of childrem who were doing what they did very year on the same day–watch Number 6 District return from Edenderry.  Much has been said in this past few days about the battles between Loyalists and the PSNI–plus its imported heavies–in the wake of the Republican assault on the Newtownards Road–but the reality is that the peopkle who were there on Friday evening should be commended for their restraint.  For a couple of hours before this parade was due to return rumours abounded about the nature of the OO protest.  In the end their was none.  There was also a lack of reponse from the Orange Order on the events–despite there also being quite a number of elected representatives within the ranks.  This was an opportunity to tell the media what exactly happened AND to explain how the Orange would respond.  But.  Silence.  And silent it has remained since their utterances on Saturday that they were suspending all protests.  Quite a back down from their original stance.  The upshot of the events over the weekend will, in all likliehood, mean thet the Ardoyne Lodges will NEVER return by their preferred route again.  It may well be only a matter of time before the morning leg is also banned.  Either the Orange Order are up for talking to residents groups–however distasteful they find them–and no matter who those groups really represent–or they are not.  They should state unequivocally that they are prepared to enter talks with ANYONE on any of the contentious marches–or else declare that they will NOT.  If they agree to the former time is of the essence.  By entering into discussions with many of these groups–either Provisional IRA or Dissident fronted–they have an opportunity to expose them as the sectarian bigots they are.  It will allow outsiders to see that all the rhetoric around a shared future is nothing but hollow drivel aimed at painting a different vista.
On Saturday Martin McGuiness, Gerry Kelly and the unfortunately titled Culture Minister Caral Ni Chuilin regaled the massed press with the familiar party lines.  Again their was no response from thos at Schomberg House.  It is a commonly held belief that the Orange Order senior officers are elderly and intransigent and collectively hold the notion that they will only communicate or speak to those who they deem inferior when it suits their agenda.  Is it time for change within the Orange Institutions?  Are there forward thinking and more dynamic members willing to grasp the nettle?  If so, now is the time to step forward and show the Leadership required from this once proud organisation.

Billy Joe.