Protestant marching season begins in earnest in July, and First Minister David Trimble, the Protestant leader of the power sharing assembly, has tendered his resignation for July 1 unless the IRA makes good on its promise of a year ago to decommission weapons. June is the deadline imposed by the Good Friday Agreement to complete the disarmament process, an effort that has hardly begun. If the deadline passes and Trimble’s resignation takes effect, the marches could be contentious and would be best avoided.
