ONE of the first items expected to be discussed when the multiparty talks reconvene at Stormont on Monday will be whether the two loyalist parties should be allowed remain at the negotiating table.
All the parties, with the exception of Sinn Fein, which is barred from the talks because of the ending of the IRA ceasefire, are expected at Stormont on Monday.
At the outset of talks, the chairman and former US senator, Mr George Mitchell, is likely to be confronted with a motion from the DUP seeking the expulsion of the Progressive Unionist Party (PUP) and the Ulster Democratic Party (UDP).
The DUP is expected to argue that the two parties are in breach of the Mitchell principles on democracy and non violence because of the Combined Loyalist Military Command's (CLMC) death threat against dissident Portadown loyalist, Mr Billy Wright.
This issue is expected to be raised even before an agenda is agreed. The parties, in their talks that ran from June 10th to the end of July, could only agree on the rules of procedure.
The parties on Monday may be asked to draw up position papers on how the issue should be managed. If they reach consensus on a way forward, Mr Mitchell will then put the matter to the British and Irish governments for their consideration or decision.
Mr Peter Robinson, the deputy DUP leader, said yesterday his party's priority was not to have the parties expelled, but to have the death threat removed.
If the parties can surmount this hurdle they will then have to agree an agenda. Another hurdle is decommissioning and how it should be tackled.
