WEST Belfast MLA Gerry Carroll has received a letter to attend a police interview regarding the protests against the Orange Order march on the Garvaghy Road.
Earlier today, the PSNI announced that they were "moving to the next phase of their investigation" into the Drumcree and Garvaghy Road dispute, and Mr Carroll has since been issued a letter.
Thousands of protestors blocked the Garvaghy Road overnight nearly two weeks ago, after an early morning court ruling gave the Orange Order parade the go-ahead. Residents and member of the Order have since been locked in a stand-off and the case was back in front of the courts this week as residents applied for leave for judicial review in a bid to halt the parade.
Speaking about receiving the police letter, Mr Carroll said: “Standing up for what’s right is never wrong."
He added: “I make no apology for standing with the residents of the Garvaghy Road. For almost three decades, this community has said no to a sectarian march being forced past their homes.
"When ordinary people peacefully stand together to defend their community that is not criminality. It is the same civil disobedience that won every gain working-class people have ever made, from the Suffragettes to the civil rights movement to the right to strike.
“The PSNI's operation around Drumcree had already cost more than £3 million by last week. Now the state is pouring yet more resources into pursuing peaceful protesters. While patients wait years for treatment and families sit on housing waiting lists, it says everything about the priorities of those in power.
“I will now be seeking the advice of my solicitor. Standing up for what’s right is never wrong.”
