Upper Falls Protestant Boys have encountered serious difficulties in the past few years since deciding to resurrect our annual band parade and competition in Suffolk. The police, at the behest of nationalist/republican  elements in west belfast, even went so far as to ask us to contain our parade to walking around local football pitches or one side of the estate if that was not possible. This ridiculous request was only one of a number of suggestions to pacify nationalists and supress the protestant people of Suffolk from celebrating their proud band culture.

We know that this kind of situation is developing in other parts of Northern Ireland; why can nationalists, the psni and parades commission not just afford us the respect we deserve and realise that our aims and objectives are celebrating our heritage in a peaceful and dignified manner well within the parameters of the law, which is a lot more than can be said of republican parades where 11/1 forms are unheard of and paramilitary regalia is standard issue.