Garvaghy Road Residents Coalition

Irish Parades Emergency Committee

199 Prospect Place, 4th Floor, Brooklyn, NY 11238 USA; 718857.4607 phone;

www.irishparades.com

Record Number of Americans to Serve as International Observers

of Contentious Marches in Northern Ireland

New York, 2 July 1999 -- A record number of American human rights observers will monitor controversial Protestant Orange marches at the Garvaghy Road in Portadown, the Lower Ormeau Road in Belfast and other flashpoints in Northern Ireland.

Over eighty Americans from groups such as the Irish Parades Emergency Committee (IPEC), the National Committee on American Foreign Policy, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, Lawyers Alliance, Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility, Peace Watch and the Irish American Unity Conference are arriving in Belfast. The observers come from fourteen states including New York, Massachusetts, California, Missouri, Texas, Wisconsin and Washington, DC. Many of the observers have experience as human rights observers in South Africa, South and Central America and Cambodia. Bill Flynn, chairman of Mutual of America, leads a delegation from the National Committee on American Foreign Policy. The largest American observer

delegation ever guarantees a large international witness at the most hotly disputed marches.

"The next two weeks will be a critical test of the British government and Northern Ireland's police, the Royal Ulster Constabulary, " commented Barbara Flynn, an IPEC leader. "What the British government and the RUC do on the Garvaghy and Lower Ormeau Roads will be the focus of intense scrutiny."

The large number of observers reflects a growing American concern about the conduct of Orange marches through Catholic neighborhoods and continued sectarian activity in Northern Ireland. Residents of local Catholic communities have objected that militant marches through their communities have been occasions for sectarian intimidation and violence against Catholics in past years. The residents have demanded the most controversial marches be rerouted away from their neighborhoods.

In addition to U.S. observers, next week a delegation of members of the U.S. Congress will be present in Northern Ireland and will also closely monitor the Orange marches.

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