Loyalists urge protestors to swamp police and Parades Commission with 11-1 forms

LOYALISTS plan to bombard the Parades Commission and the PSNI with march application forms.

Protestors have been told by the Ulster People’s Forum (UPF) to send in a parade application form even for a visit to the shop.

Under current legislation, organisers must submit an 11-1 form to the Parades Commission for any parade whether contentious or not.

The UPF said the move follows discussions between loyalist protest groups in the past number of days.

At a meeting in east Belfast on Wednesday evening a number of people expressed concern at the PSNI handling of ‘public processions’.

They claimed that the police had informed a number of those arrested that a procession was “two or more people on a road or footpath walking with a common purpose”.

In a statement, UPF chairman John Wilson said: “The groups have decided to ask all Protestants to submit 11/1 forms if they are walking anywhere, even places such as the grocery store to their home, and ensure the PSNI are made aware of all groups of more than 2 people and they have sought notification from the parades commission.

“It seems the move will force a speedy judicial review of the legislation which does not clearly define how many people or what constitutes a procession.

“The loophole could cause havoc for the PSNI who could be left in a position of effectively having to view all groups walking anywhere as a procession with the loyalist civil rights groups demanding the police take the same action as was taken against protestors.”

Mr Wilson said the move could see hundreds of 11-1 forms submitted from across the Province on a daily basis.

This he said will force the Parades Commission to make hundreds of determinations weekly on ridiculous processions such as a family of five walking to the grocery store.