With global conflict looming, there are those who say that we here in the north are insular, inward-looking, oblivious to the rest of the world. Well some of us are I suppose – but not all.
Take our former first minister. His gaze and physical frame have travelled well beyond the borders of the six counties. To the south, where he has found and denounced a mono-cultural, sectarian state. To Washington, where he has explained that the only obstacle to powersharing and peace is republicans. And across the Irish Sea to Westminster where, some say, his mind's eye has seen a new ginger-haired member in the lean mean parliamentary machine that's called the Tory shadow cabinet.
Nor does Mr Trimble's outward trajectory stop there. A couple of weeks ago he was in Barcelona and during his visit he was interviewed by a Basque daily newspaper.
Was there a prospect of the DUP overtaking the UUP next May? "That's what some would like, but it won't happen, because according to all the opinion polls the UUP will continue to be in first position." And the struggle for top slot on the nationalist side? "According to the polls the SDLP will win." What about the growth of the nationalist population? "It's madness to think that Ulster will become part of Ireland just because of the population growth." And could a day come when he himself would carry an Irish passport? "Absolutely not. That's madness."
So now – rejoice, be glad and avoid insanity. Because our ex-first minister found time to travel beyond these shores, the Basque people now have a true picture of how things are and will be here.
But there's travel and travel. Caitriona Ruane is in Colombia heading up the Bring Them Home campaign. The Basque newspaper didn't ask Mr Trimble what he thought of that, but we know from previous pronouncements that he considers the three Irishmen being held there to be guilty as hell.
That was one of the reasons he gave for pulling out of the executive and collapsing the powersharing arrangements.
Who needs a trial when you've already made up your mind about the guilt of those accused?
Maybe he should get together with Fiona O'Malley. She's a Progressive Democrat TD, the daughter of party founder Dessie O'Malley, and she thinks it's a scandal that a Fianna Fail TD has been attending the trial of the three men in Colombia. Nor does she like the way the Fianna Fail TD has denounced the trial as a farce. Fiona's denunciation is reserved for the three Irishmen who, she says, have shown contempt for Ireland by travelling on false passports. So what kind of country is this, in which the three men have been imprisoned and are standing trial?
Colombia is a well-funded state. After Israel and Egypt, it's the third largest recipient of US military aid in the world – more than $2 billion in the last four years. The Colombian authorities make good use of these weapons. Working with pro-state paramilitaries, the Colombian army has managed to
kill around 15,000 trade unionists, human rights workers, reform activists and left-wing politicians in the past four years. It's also eliminated lots of homeless people, drug addicts, and petty criminals. And the country has one of the world's most uneven economies, with the top 10% of the population earning 60 times more than the bottom 10%.
Opposed to all this is the FARC, the left-wing rebel group which the three Irishmen are accused of training. In recent years the FARC itself has been involved in extortion and kidnapping to raise funds and in drug dealing. But human rights groups are agreed that the great majority of political killings in Colombia are done, not by the FARC but by the paramilitary death-squads.
Bluntly put, Colombia is a hell-hole and one of the last places you'd want to find yourself arrested in, much less up for trial. So who in Colombia are a disgrace to their country? Why, the three Irishmen who travelled there on false passports – we have Fiona's word for it. And who is topping the unionist polls, who is topping the nationalist polls, and what would you call anyone who thought expansion of the nationalist population could lead to a united Ireland? Why, the UUP, the SDLP and 'Mad,' respectively. We have David's word for that.
The UUP and the PDs – they have so much in common, haven't they? I wonder if they've thought of merging and running on an all-Ireland basis. With David's bum daily getting closer to the bacon-slicer, it'd be worth a try.
