Letters: Anger at the Orange parades

Sir: In the late 1960s, Eamonn McCann (article, 9 July) and colleagues such as Michael Farrell and Bernadette Devlin led demonstrations throughout Northern Ireland against the Government, often through areas largely inhabited by Protestants, whom they then denounced as bigots for opposing such demonstrations. Now that Orangemen wish to parade through an area that in recent years has become largely inhabited by Catholics, the argument changes, and this becomes an invasion of Catholic territory.

One can argue legitimately either that demonstrators should not be allowed to pass through areas where they are unwelcome, or that the Government should uphold the right of free expression, even when this is likely to provoke opposition. What is not fair is to argue that causes of which one disapproves should be judged by different standards to causes one approves of.

SEAN FEAR

Radlett, Hertfordshire