UK: N.IRELAND: DRUMCREE: UNREST UPDATE

English/Nat XFA An uneasy calm has returned to Northern Ireland after police used water cannons to disperse anti-Catholic protestors during a second night of trouble near the flash point of Portadown. The R-U-C (Royal Ulster Constabulary) said nine police officers were hurt after rioters at Drumcree threw petrol bombs, rocks, fireworks and acid at security force lines enforcing a Parades Commission order banning them from the town's nationalist Garvaghy Road. The British territory is bracing itself for what's expected to be a week of violent Protestant revolt over British authorities' determination to restrict traditional Protestant parades in Catholic areas. In Portadown, several hundred Protestants massed near the rows of riot police and armoured cars blocking the path toward Garvaghy Road. They fanned out into the cow pastures flanking the Anglican Drumcree church to throw petrol bombs at police lines. In response, police deployed two Belgian-designed armored cars equipped with water cannons. One doused the lead ranks of rioters, with the intention of forcing them back up the hill toward the church. But the protestors held their ground and continued to throw rocks at the armoured vehicles. The paramilitary groups co-ordinating the protests have warned that rioting will intensify unless the Orange Order, a legal Protestant fraternal group, is allowed to march through the main Catholic district of Portadown this Sunday. Britain and the province's police commander, Chief Constable Ronnie Flanagan, say that won't be allowed to happen. Annual confrontations over Orangemen's thwarted efforts to parade down the disputed Garvaghy Road in Portadown, 30 miles (50 kms) southwest of Belfast, ignited widespread street violence in 1996, 1997 and 1998. Relative peace reigned last year after Orange leaders opted not to challenge a joint police-army blockade at their Portadown march's midway point, an Anglican church near the Catholic area. But history appears set to repeat itself with tensions and destruction mounting. On Tuesday, police set up a phone hotline to advise motorists what areas to avoid. Police reported that Protestant protestors had blocked key roads in at least six other towns in Northern Ireland. Catholic protest groups led by paroled IRA members began blocking the most controversial Orange parade routes in 1995, forcing police to decide whether to confront the protestors or the marchers. In Portadown, a bastion of support for the conservative Protestant brotherhood, Orange leaders have refused to negotiate with the Garvaghy Road protestors. Many Catholics despise Orange parades, which often feature drum-thumping "kick the pope" bands and commemorate three-century-old Protestant victories over Catholics. More than 2,000 such parades are staged each summer, only a few dozen of which go through predominantly Catholic areas. Earlier on Tuesday, a marching band made up of Orangemen was clapped and cheered as it headed towards the police barricade. They stopped in front of a row of police armoured cars and, minutes later, a group of protestors set fire to one of the vehicles. The water cannon proved more successful than it had earlier in the evening, forcing the protestors back up the road past the church. Bearing the brunt of the water cannon was Paul Berry MLA, a member of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), which is opposed to the Good Friday Agreement. Mr. Berry called for the protestors to hold their ground and to sit peacefully in protest. The protestors appeared to respond to his request and the police started to back off. SOUNDBITE: (English) SUPER CAPTION: Paul Berry MLA, Democratic Unionist Party You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/4f15e4f11ddc4eb0bf6089bc5bba2a77 Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork