THE Women's Coalition has said that it will consider withdrawing from the Northern Ireland Forum - if rules of procedure adopted by delegates are not overturned by Sir Patrick Mayhew. The Coalition is: seeking an urgent meeting with the Northern Secretary after unionist delegates passed the rules yesterday when the SDLP and the Alliance Party were absent.
The SDLP resigned from the forum after last week's disturbances and Alliance is temporarily staying away in order to let tempers cool.
One of the most controversial rules concerns the flying of the Union Jack. A proposal that it should fly over the forum building - previously failed after SDLP opposition - any motion must receive 75 per cent support. A compromise was then reached by the rules committee. It stated that the flag may be flown over the building, with the business committee deciding when.
However, unionists took full advantage of the absence of the SDLP and Alliance to change this back again yesterday to state that the Union Jack should be flown over the forum.
Ms Monica McWilliams, of the Women's Coalition, said it was undemocratic for the forum to decide its rules when two major parties were not present. There were shouts from the floor of "silly women" and "sit down and stop wasting time".
The DUP leader, the Rev Ian Paisley, said that he spoke for more women "than the Women's Coalition ever dreamed of". Its objections were "red herrings - stinking, rotten red herrings".
The rules now go to Sir Patrick for approval. The Women's Coalition has said that they will appeal to the British Prime Minister, Mr John Major, if he doesn't reject them.
Yesterday's session was the forum's first since the Drumcree stand off. In a two hour debate on last week's events, unionist politicians united in condemning the violence which followed the original decision to reroute the march. However, the UUP leader, Mr David Trimble, said that nationalists had over reacted to the RUC's reversal of that decision. He blamed last week's violence in loyalist areas on criminal elements.
Mr Hugh Smyth, of the Progressive Unionist Party, said it was a cop out to always blame the paramilitaries for disturbances. Leading loyalists had stopped young people rioting and "had it not been for the paramilitaries this city would have been burnt down".
Mr Smyth said that the UDA and UVF had chosen not to end their ceasefire last week despite having the perfect opportunity to do so. He appealed to the IRA to renew its ceasefire.
Meanwhile, Mr Billy Hutchinson, of the PUP, has warned that any further loyalist bomb warnings like the one in Dublin on Thursday from the Ulster Freedom Fighters could lead to the fringe loyalist parties being ejected from the talks process.