Statement by TUV Comber Councillor Stephen Cooper:
“The current talks and their fixation on what an Irish Language Act in whatever form it will be packaged will contain throws up a very challenging question for all of Unionism and, in particular, the UUP.
“The UUP seem to be divided on entering an Executive if a deal is cobbled together.
“The dilemma is straightforward enough, form an opposition, or sit at the table with the IRA’s proxies, swallow whatever form of Irish language legislation is produced and whatever other concessions are made to the insatiable republican movement in return for power.
“However, as always the case in Northern Ireland, it is not that simple.
“Since the legacy consultation, the one way direction of demonising all except the IRA is clear for everyone to see.
“Former UUP leader Robin Swann stated in September 2018:
”And let us not forget that the state has historical files relating to the police and the military which can be accessed by investigators. No such equivalent records are held by the terror gangs, so the focus of investigations will inevitably fall disproportionately on the security forces – responsible for 10 per cent of deaths in the Troubles, most of them legal killings, rather than the terrorist gangs who were responsible for 90 per cent of the deaths, all of them murders.”
“The UUP has repeatedly spoke out against the idea of a Historical Investigations Unit, (HIU) and have shunned attempts by the DUP to convince them of the merits of the legacy proposals ever since 2013.
“Now the problem the UUP has is twofold.
“If it accedes to the packaged concessions deriving from the current talks involving the pan Nationalist front they will then find themselves almost certainly in the uncomfortable position of supporting a deal which includes the very proposals they have vehemently and consistently opposed, i.e. all of the legacy proposals and indeed the subservience of the PSNI to a HIU set up to forensically rake over the decades of security force operations and engagements with terrorists.
“Secondly, if the UUP do not extricate themselves from the talks process before its conclusion and remain an active participant, they will have no defence for whatever the outcome may be, unless, and only unless, they reject any deal in the final hours, and forgo a ministerial seat.
“If Unionists are serious about Unionist unity, then a fine place to start would be the dismissal of any attempts to camouflage any Irish language legislation with meaningless gestures to Ulster Scots, or tinkering with the Parades Commission; and instead reject the blackmail and coercion from everyone outside the Unionist family upon them.
“It is no longer a case of this we will maintain, it is rather, this we must maintain.”