Published Wednesday, 28 October 2009
During a DUP-led debate in the Commons on Tuesday night, Mr Robinson told MPs of the "political imperative" to resolve issues of parading in Northern Ireland before policing and justice powers were devolved.
Mr Robinson also called for the abolition of the Parades Commission, which is responsible for placing restrictions on parades that it deems contentious.
He has branded it "not a solution to problems but part of the problem itself".
The Garvaghy Road Residents Coalition has responded to the latest comments by the First Minister.
One of the most contentious parades is the annual Orange Order parade at Drumcree in Portadown. Orangemen have been banned since 1998 from marching through the mainly nationalist Garvaghy Road.
"The problems around the marching issue in Portadown arise from the attempts by unionism and Orangeism to dominate the minority community for purely sectarian reasons", the residents said.
They said the DUP sought a return to the days "when the joint forces of unionism and Orangeism could control all facets of life within Portadown"
"The parades issue is one which belongs in the past and should remain there, and must not be allowed to be resurrected by anyone in order to suit party political agendas or narrow sectarian interests", they said.
"The timing of DUP's present political offensive suggest that the DUP see the parades issue as some form of bargaining tool in the wider political arena."
SDLP policing spokesperson Alex Attwood said Peter Robinson's call to abolish the Parades Commission had been facilitated by Sinn Fein.
"The SDLP, alone, has argued for the retention of the Parades Commission. Despite poor decisions by the current commission, over the years, it's made an important and positive contribution to managing parading disputes," he said.
"The SDLP has warned that devolution of policing and justice will only come on DUP's terms. That's now clearly and unambiguously the case."
"The fear within Sinn Fein is now that the traffic is all one-way. They're now having a sham-fight with the DUP around this to try to obscure that the DUP have been getting their way all along," he added.