Chai Brady
The police flanked members of Clydevalley Flute Band from Larne during Saturday's parade The Bishop of Derry has said there will always be attempts to “exploit tension”, after a flute band wore Parachute Regiment insignia during the annual Apprentice Boys march.
The ‘Derry Day parade’ which took place over the weekend attracted up to 145 bands with 8,000 people taking part.
Members of the Clydevalley Flute Band from Larne wore the symbol with the letter ‘F’ on their shirts. They were subsequently flanked and then stopped by police.
Bishop Donal McKeown said: “There will always be those who will look to exploit tension, but there’s a great strength in the city of people who will ensure there are other ways of dealing with potential flash points, we did last summer as well.
“People work together here very well. Derry over the years has developed a very mature way of dealing with its tensions and they will handle this as well.”
He added that previously “conversations dealt” with paratrooper flags being raised in loyalist areas and “nobody made a fuss about it”.
“There would be resentment among many people in the city, there are those looking for confrontation and antagonism whereas the vast bulk of people are looking for a way forward and we will find that way forward,” Bishop McKeown said.
“Clearly you have dissidents on the republican side as well who are happy to cause trouble but the vast majority of people here across most of the political parties are genuinely working to defuse situations rather than to exploit them.”
On the Saturday of the march two petrol bombs were thrown at the Apprentice Boys’ headquarters, the Memorial Hall in Derry.
A former member of the Parachute Regiment, known as Soldier F, is facing two charges of murder and four charges of attempted murder in connection with Bloody Sunday in Derry.
Banners with the Parachute insignia have been displayed in Northern Ireland declaring support for Solider F. His first court appearance is expected to take place in Derry on September 18, with Dr McKeown saying this has made it a “burning issue” in the community.
“The community here is keen, all working together, to ensure that we pass that over, like any court appearance by anybody anywhere, but Derry is a normal city but there are those who will seek to exploit it,” he added.