Northern Ireland police contact Sinn Fein members over parade protest

Northern Irish police have contacted representatives of Sinn Fein as part of an investigation into a protest that has prevented a Protestant parade from marching through the Catholic Garvaghy Road for nearly two weeks. The parade was allowed to proceed for the first time since 1998 before the protest began.

Thousands of protesters, including Northern Ireland First Minister Michelle O'Neill of Sinn Fein and party leader Mary Lou McDonald, gathered to block the September 26 march. The annual marches by the Orange Order through the area had previously triggered unrest before the route was banned in 1998, the same year the Good Friday Agreement largely ended "the Troubles."

Police initiated an investigation into what they termed an unlawful protest. On Thursday, they announced that individuals identified as reasonably suspected of committing offenses would receive letters inviting them for interviews. Sinn Fein confirmed that several of its representatives and members had received such correspondence.

"Sinn Féin will continue to stand with the Garvaghy Road residents who should be allowed to live in peace and free from sectarian intimidation," the party said in a statement. Separately, Gerry Carroll, a lawmaker from the People Before Profit party, stated he had received an invitation from the police for a voluntary interview under caution concerning the protest.

The dispute has reportedly destabilized the region's fragile power-sharing government, with Sinn Fein's partners, the Democratic Unionist Party, calling for O'Neill and other lawmakers to face prosecution. "A political title is not a shield, and no one is above the law," the DUP said in a statement.