WEST Belfast representatives stood side-by-side with residents of the Garvaghy Road at the weekend as the dispute over an Orange Order parade continues.
Thousands of people descended upon the Garvaghy Road from Saturday ahead of the proposed 8am Portadown District parade leaving Drumcree Church.
West Belfast MP Paul Maskey said he was "proud" to stand with residents.
"This is a community that has come through some of the hardest times imaginable," he said. "When residents needed support, people stepped forward. Over the past number of days, people from across the island have come here to show their solidarity and to make clear that this community is not alone.
"The rights of residents must be respected. Everyone has the right to live in their own community in peace, free from intimidation, harassment and sectarianism.
"Residents here have endured an extremely difficult few weeks. The courage, dignity and bravery they have shown throughout this period has been immense, particularly over the last few days.
"Our message is simple, we stand with the residents of Garvaghy. We will continue to support them, to listen to them and to stand alongside them as they seek nothing more than the right to live in peace and with dignity in their own community.
"This community has shown remarkable strength. They deserve respect, they deserve peace, and they deserve to know that they are not standing alone."
People Before Profit MLA Gerry Carroll described the resilience on the Garvaghy Road as inspirational.
"I arrived on the Garvaghy Road on Saturday afternoon and stayed with residents until Sunday afternoon. I returned again later on Sunday and stayed until late in the evening. I wanted to be there because I think it matters that people see you standing with them, rather than just commenting from a distance.
"The atmosphere on the road is hard to put into words. It was cold and the rain was torrential but people stood there regardless, linked arm in arm through the whole night and into the next day. Local residents were supported by people who travelled from across Ireland. There were elderly men and women out there who had lived through Drumcree the first time around and had no intention of being moved off their own street again. Their resilience was an inspiration and I won't forget it.
"But there was obviously real pain there too. I watched people in tears, clearly reliving the trauma of the past. This got very little mention from the likes of Jonathan Buckley, Carla Lockhart and Jamie Bryson cheering this on from the court steps."
Independent councillor Paul Doherty said there is "no going back" on the Garvaghy Road.
"I spent the whole day on Saturday at the High Court and then to Garvaghy Road early on Sunday morning.
"The thing that has stuck with me most is just talking to people who live on that road.
"They are watching this all unfold 28 years on. You are seeing the same faces from then who never thought this would come around again. There is a lot of anguish and frustration.
"The strength is also there too. The people of Garvaghy Road stood firm and peacefully. Their message is the Orange Order are not getting down that road and never will get down that road.
"Nobody should be looking back. Back in time, nationalist communities were just simply expected to accept things. If people believe that they can stamp on people’s rights, especially in the nationalist community like they have this weekend, they are wrong.
"There is no going back and we aren’t going to stand back and allow the rights of the nationalist community to be trampled on by anybody.
"We have spent decades trying to build something here. I believe there is now a real threat to the political institutions.
"The political leadership here needs to stand firm and not go backwards on the Garvaghy Road or anywhere else.
"For me, the PSNI have serious questions to answer over the assessment they made and poor decision-making. They got it terribly wrong and put the Garvaghy Road community under serious pressure."
