Cobain’s lack of interest in justice

The UUP (sorry, “UCUNF”) candidate for North Belfast, Fred Cobain, has demonstrated again why unionism is such a dysfunctional creed.

In response to the new Justice Minister’s first steps in office, Cobain focussed on the fact that Ford had held talks with his southern counterpart.

As Cobain put it:

"David Ford has barely warmed his Executive seat, and already he is latching on to the mantra of working across Ireland 'both North and South'. "We can thank the DUP for gerrymandering in a Minister who is, by his own admission, 'agnostic' on the Union.

The Justice Ministry - probably the most sensitive post in the Executive - has been handed on a silver platter to a man who made a monumental gaffe over Bloody Sunday, only to turn tail and cower the minute he was challenged. Now we have proof positive of Minister Ford's priorities, given that 'on-going cross-border police co-operation' and a meeting with the Republic's Justice Minister and Garda Commissioner was his primary concern on his anointment.”

So Cobain thinks that the primary issue should be whether the Minister is a unionist? Rather than a Minister who seeks to cooperate closely with the adjacent jurisdiction?

Do you have to be a ‘unionist’ to pursue justice? Only a fool would believe that – but it seems that Cobain does.

And what on earth has he against “on-going cross-border police co-operation” and meetings with the Republic's Justice Minister and Garda Commissioner? If they help to improve cross-border cooperation again, for example, dissident republican violence? Would he prefer the violence to the cooperation? What a bizarre point of view!

Cobain simply demonstrates (yet again) that unionism is a sick and diseased belief system, that gives higher value to ‘unionism’ than to cooperation, neighbourliness, efficiency, common sense, peace and security.

Has Cobain ever looked at a map? Has he no idea that what happens in the north and south are inextricably linked? Crime and dissident activity respect no artificial borders, and we all share a small island – if Ford did not seek immediate cooperation with his southern counterpart, then he would be failing in his job – but to Mr Cobain such failure, and the deaths, destruction, crime and insecurity that such a failure might lead to is less important than whether Ford is a unionist. Cobain is pathetic, but unfortunately all too typical of unionism. Until his ill creed is defeated no-one in Ireland, north or south, will be certain of getting the efficient governance that we all need.