Noel Gallagher, Johnny Marr, Kneecap, Paul Weller and more sign open letter in support of Garvaghy Road

Major names such as Noel Gallagher, Johnny Marr, Kneecap and Paul Weller have come together to sign an open letter in support of the residents of Garvaghy Road in Belfast.

The road in Portadown, County Armagh, has now entered its 11th day of a tense deadlock, following a decision being passed to allow the unionist Orange Order parade to march through the predominantly nationalist area.

If it goes ahead, it will be the first time this has happened since 1998. For the past 28 years, the Parades Commission has persistently blocked the Orange Order from returning via the Garvaghy Road due to the history of severe violence, including an incident where three young brothers, aged nine, 10 and 11, were killed “when their home was attacked by an Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) petrol bomb” (via the Irish Independent).

Apesar dessas restrições estarem em vigor há quase três décadas, uma decisão do High Court relaxou as normas, permitindo que a Order obtenha agora a permissão para seguir o trajeto novamente.

Músicos, atores e dramaturgos de destaque assinam petição em apoio aos residentes da Garvaghy Road.

Noel Gallagher do Oasis, Paul Weller, Suggs do Madness, Johnny Marr, Kevin Rowland, Imelda May, Susan Sarondon, Adrian Dunbar, Ken Loach, Irvine Welsh são… pic.twitter.com/0yAyBG3dVW.

Foi decidido que essa rota poderia ser percorrida, desde que apenas 35 membros da Orange Order participassem, e que começasse às 8h em vez das 13h. Em retaliação, muitos moradores da Garvaghy Road se manifestaram contra a decisão e saíram às ruas na esperança de revertê-la.

First Minister Michelle O’Neill also pushed for a reconsideration, asking Northern Ireland Secretary Sir Chris Bryant to intervene and claiming that it has given the residents in the area “no sleep in fear and anxiety”.

There is an open letter addressed to Bryant circulating, too, calling for peace in the region and for an “independent international mediator from outside Ireland and Britain” to be appointed to help resolve the debate.

Ele também chamou o confronto de “um lembrete claro da natureza frágil da nossa paz compartilhada”, e instou Bryant a “exercer liderança política corajosa neste momento crítico, buscando na comunidade internacional um árbitro neutro que possa orientar todas as partes em direção a um futuro compartilhado e pacífico.”.

So far, huge names including Noel Gallagher, Paul Weller and Johnny Marr have all signed the letter, as have Kneecap, Nadine Shah, Massive Attack’s Robert Del Naja, Madness frontman Suggs, and Dexy’s Midnight Runners’ Kevin Rowland.

Actors Siobhán McSweeney and Adrian Dunbar.

E dezenas de outros grandes nomes da música, do cinema e das artes acabaram de colocar seus nomes em uma carta apoiando… pic.twitter.com/070E4w4g5g.

Actors including Susan Sarandon, Maxine Peake, Ken Loach and Adrian Dunbar have also signed, as have Pixies’ Frances Black, Imelda May, The Clash’s Paul Simonon, and Spider Stacey.

A voz definidora do mundo em música e cultura pop: revelando o que há de novo e o que vem por aí desde 1952.

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