There aren't many places where a community festival would be described as "provocative". But that was the reaction from Ulster Unionist MP Ken Maginnis to news that the residents of the Garvaghy Road in Portadown were planning to hold a street festival on 6th July, the day that an Orange march is due to go through their community. It conjures up a bizarre scenario: bowler-hatted, sash-wearing Orangemen determined to march from Drumcree church through a community in which they are not welcome and complaining that children's street parties are causing trouble.
In the year since the turmoil produced by last year's Drumcree stand-off when the British Government capitulated to loyalist violence, the Orange Order has steadfastly refused to hold meetings with nationalist residents. The result has been that once again isolated nationalist communities are facing violence and intimidation as the price for standing up for the right to be consulted.
It has been a remarkable year for the people of the Garvaghy Road. They have grown together as a community and become a truly radical force through their battle to retain dignity in the face of tremendous pressure. Nationalists in Portadown have for generations been expected to "know their place". Triumphalist parades have been one aspect of their second-class citizenship which they have been expected to tolerate. But these parades have been regular flashpoints for violence. It is not surprising that nationalists are determined to reach an accommodation which would lay the ground rules for all parades.
It is also not surprising that the Orange Order has turned its face against any negotiation. They insist that their right to march is inalienable. Their attitude is that this is our state and we will march where we want.
The determination of nationalists to resolve the problem through negotiations was strengthened two months ago when a Catholic man, Robert Hamill, was beaten to death by loyalists in the centre of Portadown. Members of his family who were with him at the time have accused the RUC of standing by and doing nothing. The killing heightened anger amid claims that the days of equality are still a long way off.
The community also asserted their radicalism when they elected two of their residents association spokespeople in council elections last month. Breandan MacCionnaith, who topped the poll, is the spokesperson whom the Orange Order has refused to meet because he served a sentence in the 1970s for hijacking a car. He now has the legitimacy of being an elected representative, but the Orange Order still refuses to meet him.
As the tension mounts and 6th July approaches, a number of civil rights groups from Ireland, Britain and the United States will act as monitors on the Garvaghy Road. They will be joined by representatives from religious groups who witnessed the events of last year when the residents were batoned off the road in order to allow the Orange march to proceed. Also present will be the massed ranks of the media. The eyes of the world will be on Drumcree. In other nationalist areas, most notably the Lower Ormeau Road in Belfast - which was put under a 24 hour curfew to facilitate an Orange march - and in nationalist villages like Dunloy and Bellaghy, attention will also be focused on Drumcree. It will be the test of whether Orange rule will once again triumph.
It is also a test of the new Secretary of State, Mo Mowlam. She is engaged in a form of shuttle diplomacy, visiting residents' groups and Orangemen and urging compromise. But so far she has not urged that the two sides meet. While it is obvious to all objective observers and to anyone involved in conflict resolution that there must be some form of talks or mediation if a solution is to be found, Mowlam seems to be clinging to the forlorn hope that a compromise can be reached without any sort of contact between the two sides. It is the first real test of her ability in the job. She arrived with the public image of someone ready to carry out her function with energy. It remains to be seen if that energy will translate into positive action.
As the loyalist marching season gets underway, the solution to the difficulties which now seem certain to arise must be through dialogue. Political activists should make this clear to Mo Mowlam while also standing in solidarity with those communities who are calling for their right to be consulted over provocative marches through their areas.