THE Drumcree Orange march has passed off peacefully ahead of Monday’s round of crucial negotiations aimed at saving the Good Friday peace process.

While the British army had drafted in an extra 1,600 troops in anticipation of widespread civil unrest in the wake of the marching activities, disturbances were limited to minor incidents occurring late on Sunday night, involving a crowd of about 400 youths who had gathered at a barricade erected to deny access to the Garvaghy Road. RUC officers and British soldiers came under attack from petrol bombs, fireworks and ball bearings

While this is the fourth consecutive year in which the Orangemen have been banned from marching down the Garvaghy Road, the atmosphere surrounding the day’s events was markedly less confrontational than in previous years.

Addressing a small audience of only one thousand Orangemen, Robert Saulters, the Order’s Grand Master, described the Parades Commissions refusal to allow the march to proceed down the Garvaghy Road as “a defeat for democracy worldwide” but made reference to a new strategy for attracting international attention to the matter of their plight.

He added: ”This may not be a battle we win today, but we can, we must, and we will, continue to fight for the restoration of our fundamental human rights.”

However, Assistant Chief Constable Stephen White has given a stern warning to anyone planning organised disruption in the week ahead.

He said: "If marchers and those who object to parades can work out their difficulties and come to an agreement locally, we will respond positively. But, if we are needed to protect life and property and preserve peace because of violent disorder, we will do that.

"If there is a minority set on causing trouble with no respect for the law or for other people then we will deal with that problem robustly and effectively.”

Last year the RUC's policing bill for the months of July cost an extra £5.5 million. (CL)