Statement by TUV leader Jim Allister:
“This Twelfth will be like no other we have seen in our lifetime. Towns up and down the Province will be deprived of the wealth of artistic and musical talent which is normally on display at this time of year and Northern Ireland will be the poorer for that.
“A few years ago the then Sinn Fein Mayor of Belfast praised the musical talent on display at the Belfast Tattoo. Ironically, one of those taking part was Dunloy Accordion, a band which cannot parade its own town any year because of opposition manufactured by Sinn Fein.
“This Twelfth, for one year, it is necessary to forgo many of the traditional celebrations. The Orange Order recognised this at an early stage in the pandemic and across the country, individual bands are making a special effort to bring some of the sight and sound of the Twelfth to people’s homes by socially distancing parading of many estates. These responsible decisions are to be commended.
“While there has been precious little recognition of the sacrifices loyalists across Nothern Ireland have made for the public good any failure to comply with the regulations will be seized on by our opponents and used to excuse the disgraceful scenes at the funeral of IRA terrorist Bobby Storey. Nothing would please Sinn Fein more than to be able to point at the conduct of Loyalists over the next few days and claim that our community is no better.
“We, as a united community, have a chance to show Republicanism that we hold ourselves to a higher standard. While in normal times we would love to see a large turnout of Orangemen and bands to celebrate the civil and religious liberties secured at the Boyne this year keeping within the guidance is key if we are to disappoint our critics in Republicism and the media.
“Having forgone the celebration for the public good let us look forward to them coming back more colourful, bigger and louder than ever before for 2021 when we can mark the centenary of Northern Ireland in style.”