In a letter to the editor dated 4 December 1996, Rt Hon John Taylor, Deputy Leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), addresses Mr Robert McCartney's stance on the decommissioning of arms by paramilitary groups before Sinn Féin's participation in the Three-stranded Talks. Taylor clarifies that McCartney's position aligns with the UUP's regarding Sinn Féin's entry into the talks without the total decommissioning of PIRA arms. However, Taylor points out a key difference: McCartney demands that Loyalist paramilitaries hand over a significant amount of weaponry before the Ulster Democratic Party (UDP) and Progressive Unionist Party (PUP) can join the talks. In contrast, the UUP acknowledges the Loyalist paramilitary ceasefire, which has held firm for two years, and supports commencing negotiations with the current parties, including the UDP and PUP, without unilateral decommissioning by Loyalist paramilitaries. Taylor emphasizes that mutual decommissioning by both Loyalist and Republican paramilitaries should follow if Sinn Féin wishes to join the talks, as recommended by Senator Mitchell and agreed upon by the UUP. He warns that expelling the UDP and PUP from the talks unless Loyalist paramilitaries hand over weaponry could lead to a resurgence of Loyalist paramilitary activity, a scenario that should be avoided.
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