Wales : Merthyr Rising 1831 Beginning

Wales : Merthyr Rising 1831 - the beginning by Gethin ap Gruffydd

 The Reformist Road to Twyn y Waun 30 May 1831

The Radical Road to Hirwaun Common 31st May 1831.

There are two traditional views of the Merthyr Rising of 1831. They are not necessarily totally separate views re the history and conditions that caused this workers' revolt to break out into an armed uprising.

Suffice to say for a very simple overview just read the account headed Merthyr Rising p396 of the Oxford Companion to the Literature of Wales, Ed Meic Stephens. Oxford University Press. You will of course not leave it at that but go on to books that will deal with the subject in greater depth, some of which I will mention below. What I wish to focus on is those two separate views, which point out the two separate paths that converged on Merthyr 1831 and at the end of May beginning of June causing this most major of Welsh insurrections since the time of Owain Glyndwr.

It's generally accepted that the Merthyr Rising of 1831 was in many ways part of the general British struggle for political reform, which would be the basis of a later much stronger Chartist Movement and also part of the struggle to establish Trade Unionism. There is another aspect of the Revolt that may be seen to have more national Welsh connotations’ and that is in the more radical nature the Merthyr Rising took as a particularly Welsh insurrection.

This is the view presented by Welsh Republicans such as historian Ivor Wilks and more romantically by Harri Webb. This is presented in the ‘natural justice’ protest on Hirwaun common, such radicalism prior and since is seen as representing a long history of Welsh radicalism. (also see writings on this by professor Gwyn Alf Williams).

Merthyr Tudful had been in discontent for a long time, particularly since the depression of 1829 with subsequent reform agitation following, not least in the early months of 1831.  Merthyr Tudful was in a ferment of discontent and disturbance culminating in a great Reform Rally at Twyn y Waun on 30 May 1831.

This reform rally was a political affair led by dissident radicals such as Cyfartha coal miner Thomas Llywelyn and issues raised at this rally were reformist and relating to trade union rights under banners which declared ‘Reform in Parliament' but also ‘God Save William IV’.

It seems the following day 31 May 1831, Thomas Llywelyn attempted to hold another reform rally at Hirwaun Common. Here however ‘Reformism’ met with the more militant men of Hirwaun who seemed more hell bent on radical measures. Their purpose was to put right more immediate wrongs and had more to do with a long tradition of struggle for ‘natural justice’.

Thus Thomas Llywelyn led his trade unionists off on a march to Aberdare to seek workers' justice in term of labour rights; improved conditions and wages. Back on Hirwaun Common other more militant matters were being considered, which would come to an head.
         
I do not want to dwell much more on repeating the history of the Merthyr Rising as there are a number of books you should read on the subject which will more than inform you of the history but also the differing views as to its nature, form & purpose.

Suffice for me to conclude that after the Reformists had left Hirwaun Common, the radicals killed a calf and dipped in its blood the white cloth of a reform flag, which they raised on a pole as possibly the first ever Red Flag of Popular Rebellion along with another banner that stated ‘Bara neu Waed’ (Bread or Blood).

There can be no doubt that the following seven days in June changed Welsh history immensely and of course in these terms the commemoration of 1831–2006 should be not only an entertaining experience but also be most informative & educational purpose to remind us who we are and where we come from.

The Merthyr Rising 1831   Time line of key events       

1st June - Workers march on Merthyr
2nd June - The town is seized by workers, the Riot Act is read and troops sent for
3rd June - “The Battle of Castle Inn” (see Dic Penderyn below). 26 “rioters” killed
4th June - Troops arrive from Brecon but one column is ambushed and disarmed by workers
5th June - Gwent workers rise and march to support Merthyr workers
6th June - Great workers' gathering at Twyn y Waun, troops arrive and level guns
7th June - Troops regain control of Merthyr, mass arrests and imprisonment follow

Epilogue: During the days that followed the troops searched particularly for those seen as leaders of the revolt, many were arrested and imprisoned amongst them Dic Penderyn and shortly after Lewis Lewis was captured.

All were put on trial, found guilty and sentence to death or transportation to Australia. Some question the mysterious way Lewis Lewis was reprieved but not Dic Penderyn. Dic Penderyn was executed on 13 August 1831, thus was created a “Welsh Working Class Martyr” long remembered as a popular  "Hero of Welsh History", whilst Lewsyn yr Heliwr - no doubt instigator and leader of the revolt - has been largely forgotten.

Whilst it remained politically or culturally correct to remember Dic Penderyn as a martyr, later "respectable" Victorian Wales chose to forget the Merthyr Rising 1831. So too Welsh Labour – Unionist Tradition, which came to remember more about the Tolpuddle martyrs & English Labour history rather than their own Welsh labour history.

 

Ironically the resurrection and restoration of this radical History was left to be more popularised by a Welsh Republican Movement 1946 – 56 via the writings of socialist republican historian Ivor Wilks and socialist republican bard Harri Webb. 

Historical Note: Twyn y waun had been the location of the Waun fair since the Middle Ages and possibly further back it may have been a traditional ancient gathering point for people. During the 16th Century Waun Fair was recorded in official records as being associated with outlaws & thieves particularly horse stealers & cattle rustlers who brought their four-legged stolen goods to dispose of at Waun fair. So well known was this that even suppliers of the English army came to Waun fair to buy cattle on the cheap and of course make huge profits.

Reading Matter for you yourselves to determine much.
         
Introduction: Read up on following subjects matter  (Full details & literature via web search)
                                                                                               
·        Any material on the making of modern Wales post-Act of Union 1536.
·        18th Century Welsh Cultural Renaissance, Religious Revival & Political dissent.
·        18th Century popular protest, disturbances & discontent, focus 1798 – 1831.
·        The Merthyr Rising 1831
·        Post-1831 Scotch Cattle & the Newport Insurrection 1839.
·        The 1839 Rebecca Rebellion of the western counties.
·        1848 - the Year of European Revolutions and in Wales the Blue Books.
·        1848-1880s Rise of Liberal Wales to Cymru Rydd & beyond.
·        Rise of Labour Party & trade unionism in Wales.
·        Welsh Nationalism inc anything on republicanism.

For the chief reading material regards much of above & Merthyr 1831 plus it’s aftermath to 1831 & beyond you may focus on three particular historians:

· D. J. V. Jones: Before Rebecca Popular Protest in Wales 1793 – 1835.

· David Smith: For traditional “Unionist British Labour history’’.

· Gwyn A. Williams: For a communist and republican viewpoint.

· Ivor Wilks: Protagonist of a “Welsh Republican” view.

Further to above there are a great number of other books & essays in a number of journals, as ‘Llafur’ all of which may be searched out via the web & bibliographies. Further, two essays that touch on the above, are available on request via email only; they are:

· Aftermath. A radical interpretation of Welsh History from conclusion of Glyndwr war to the Merthyr Rising of 1831.

· Dic Penderyn. An interpretation of the Welsh Martyr Complex & why”.

Obtainable from gethingruffydd@ntlworld.com

Merthyr Rising 1831 Commemoration - Cardiff

Dic Penderyn was executed 13 Awst 1831: Outside the market on St Mary Street, Cardiff near the spot where he was executed, you will find a plaque in commemoration of his execution. To the last he protested his innocence, and his final words in Welsh were an anguished cry at injustice. "O Arglwydd, dyma gamwedd" "O Lord what an iniquity" he shouted, as the hangman's noose was tightened. Dic Penderyn’s coffin was then carried by cart to Port Talbot, where he was buried in cemetery of St Mary’s Church.

Source: http://merthyrrising.blogspirit.com/archive/2006/01/05/merthyr-rising-1831-the-beginning.html:

See Also :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWTlB0zXvxU

 

 http://democracyandclasstruggle.blogspot.co.uk

Scottish Anti-Bedroom Tax Federation

Caidreachas Anargach Na h-Alba

Anarchist Federation Scotland

Stitched up: The Scottish Anti-Bedroom Tax Federation

Posted on May 12, 2013 by afedscotland

Déjà vu: the poll tax campaign which the Trotskyist Militant tendency also tried to lead.

The first Scottish Anti-Bedroom Tax conference took place on 27th April in Glasgow, its aim to unite local groups across the country into one campaign with greater strength and resources.  I’m surprised it hasn’t received more coverage and criticism.  I suspect that’s because people are holding their tongues and focusing on organising locally and in other campaigns.  However, I would argue that we need to discuss what’s happening nationally so that we can be more effective in challenging the Bedroom Tax, and any government cuts, but also to ensure that a campaign like this is controlled by working class people themselves.

Here’s what I’ve written previously:

The old authoritarian Left, after having lost much of its credibility, recognises the importance of the anti-Bedroom Tax campaign and has been trying as usual to put itself in a position of leadership in order to control it and regain political influence and power.  Tommy Sheridan, out of prison for perjury, is back in the media spotlight as the face of the anti-Bedroom Tax campaign and, after everything he’s done, still manages to muster enthusiastic support from his fan club.  He briefly got himself elected secretary of the interim committee of the West of Scotland Anti-Bedroom Tax Federation, before being forced to resign because of his divisive role.  But don’t count him out just yet.

Well, that was a bit of an understatement.  What in fact happened at the Glasgow conference was that the West of Scotland federation effectively became a national federation.  Tommy Sheridan was elected the chairperson and, coincidentally, members of the Socialist Party Scotland (CWI) and SWP gained positions as secretary and deputy chairperson respectively.  These, just to remind you, were the same parties that backed each other up previously in manipulating things in the West of Scotland federation and in putting forward Dave Sherry, one of those high-ranking SWP members who covered up a rape in the party, as speaker on the last march against the Bedroom Tax in Glasgow, 30th March.  Sherry gave another speech at the conference. There were over 200 people there on the day, although it’s unclear how many of those were voting delegates.  In any case, out of all those present only one person actually voted against the officers during the election or seemed to have an alternative proposal.  Furthermore, amendments to the pre-written founding statement were not allowed.  And to cap it all, speeches were given arguing for the necessity of a workers’ party and that we should look, funnily enough, to the example of the Militant tendency’s influence in Liverpool council in the 1980s as to how local government should be run.*
This is all bad news. It is incredibly cynical to use a grassroots campaign meeting, presumably meant to attract people from different groups or none, as an opportunity for your own party political broadcast. That Sheridan has taken such a central position within this new organisation shows, as though any more proof were needed, the extent to which he’s willing to go to trample over any independent attempts at organising and promote himself.  As a politician, he is so toxic and divisive that his latest ego trip is his way of saying a big fuck you to the rest of the Left, and leads him to actively compete with any other organisation he can’t control.  As for the structure of the federation, the steering committee is meant to consist of 60 elected members from across Scotland.  That’s sounds democratic, right?  The problem is that the national federation’s officer positions appear to be permanent rather than rotated, there is no mention of recallability for the members from local groups, and it seems likely that the parties will between them be able to engineer things in enough local groups to marginalise any differences in the steering committee – after all, this is what’s happened so far.  And, just to be clear, a real federation doesn’t ‘steer’ things from the centre but co-ordinates what groups have already decided and told their spokespersons.  It all starts to look like a small group of party activists deciding things among themselves and then passing on these instructions to the ‘foot soldiers’ - without whom there wouldn’t be a “federation” in the first place.  That’s not a federal structure, it’s a party structure.
But this is an important point.  It’s not just party hacks who were at this conference or who will be involved in the “federation”.  Most of the people will be those who are genuinely concerned by the Bedroom Tax or are directly affected themselves.  And I am certainly not criticising them.  The number of people attending the first conference was certainly impressive.
It is argued by some that anarchists only denounce things and retreat into ‘pure’, small-scale initiatives with little influence or give up entirely.  I would dispute this, but were it ever to be true it would be a mistake.  We need to be where people are.   What we share even with the parties mentioned above is the aim to defeat the Bedroom Tax: to pressure local authorities, housing associations and government, and to physically prevent evictions if necessary.  In campaigns like this it would naive to think that we can avoid working with other political groups we often disagree with.
However, It would equally naive to suggest that divisions aren’t ever meaningful and can simply disappear.  There is a line.  Pro-feminism isn’t an add-on or a separate issue, it has to be advocated by us in everything we do.  We need to oppose sexism wherever we encounter it or we are hypocrites.  And we should always argue for directly democratic structures.  This isn’t some sort of luxury; it increases the participation and popular base of organisations, making them stronger and more radical, and ensures that a struggle like this has a positive long-term effect on class solidarity and empowerment.
This all leads to the question: can and should anarchists and anyone with a commitment to genuine grassroots organising be involved in the Scottish Anti-Bedroom Tax Federation?
My mind isn’t made up on this, but I think there are a few options:
1.  If it becomes clear that this federation is a lost cause, and just another in a long-line of front groups then we could ignore it and concentrate on making the local community groups we’re already involved in as successful, as influential and participative as possible. At the same time we should continue to be actively a part of regional federations like that of Edinburgh & Lothians, which has taken a much more positive direction since it’s much more diverse, hasn’t yet been captured by party socialists, and recognises the need for directly democratic decision-making.  We shouldn’t take that for granted, but make sure that we build on this beginning.
2. Let’s get one thing straight: anarchists love federations (the clue’s in our name).  We want to federate everything, and build a collective power from below, rather than have weaker isolated groups.  So, we definitely support the idea of an actual national federation.  Despite all its problems, if this federation is the only cross-Scotland organisation in town and continues to attract local groups and working class people (which is what it was designed to do) then perhaps we need to be involved.  But that would require us actively arguing for important changes in the structure, processes and current officers.  Sheridan needs to be ousted, and Sherry refused a platform altogether.  That all sounds like an uphill struggle.  On the other hand, Trotskyists and their ilk will always try to dictate and manipulate.  They’re the ones who call the A to B marches on Saturdays, who set up the ‘national federations’ and open ‘coalitions’, choose the speakers and speak to the media. We can either complain about this or challenge it with a co-ordinated response.
3. However, it may be that we can be involved in national organising and avoid much of the authoritarian Left.  The No2BedroomTax campaign seems to have originally been part of the West of Scotland federation but is now independent of it.  It seeks to support and link anti-Bedroom Tax groups throughout Scotland, and also seems to have a commitment to grassroots democracy and skepticism of politicians very unlike the Scottish Anti-Bedroom Tax Federation.  I’m sure they’re not interested in sectarian battles between left groups, but want to extend the campaign and have an impact.  So, as far as I can see, this is a much more positive initiative.  They’ve called a Day of Protest against the tax for the 18th May in Glasgow.
I’m much more inclined towards a mix of options 1 and 3.  But I know from my own experience that the Scottish Anti-Bedroom Tax Federation is trying to involve groups from across the country in their own organisation, and that many don’t see or aren’t aware of it being dominated by the Sheridan crowd.  At the moment, that’s really unfortunate.  The key points are to fight the tax without sacrificing or undermining other fundamental principles, not to surrender control of the campaign to the authoritarians, to be where working class people are, and to take our arguments to them.
—————————————————————————————————————————————————–
Here’s another, very different, report of the first Scottish Anti-Bedroom Tax conference, and its founding statement.  I won’t bother linking to the Socialist Worker.
For remarkably similar insights into Trotskyist attempts at hijacking the poll tax campaign, AFed members who were active in it at the time have written a good deal.
*Funnily enough, because both the CWI and Solidarity come out of the earlier Militant tendency.  The Liverpool example is a bit hilarious, really.  Militant managed to dominate the Labour council through undemocratic machinations in the labour movement and their very own Sheridan figure, Dereck Hatton (who’s now a millionaire property developer).  When they got into power the Labour council did indeed build houses, parks and sport centres.  It ended up fighting teachers’ unions, the Black and Ethnic Minority community, making deals with the Conservatives so that Liverpool council didn’t support the miners, spreading mass disillusionment among council workers, especially after having to ‘pretend’  to deliver thousands of redundancy notices, and seriously undermining self-organisation and radicalism among the Liverpool working class for succeeding generations.  Another hierarchical leadership cult, whose vague Leftism was constrained by becoming the business managers of a council, and who were eventually chucked out of the very party they were meant to take over to achieve socialism.
http://scotlandaf.wordpress.com/?blogsub=confirming#blog_subscription-3

SRSM Expanding in Scotland

 

Srsp Alba

SRSM Aberdeen comunn launch will be 1st of June at 7pm City centre venue- please pm us for more details.

http://www.scottishrepublicansocialistmovement.org/Pages/contactus.aspx 

Annual Bannockburn Rally June 22 Saturday

 Annual Bannockburn Rally June 22 Saturday

Gather 1314 Inn, next to Heritage Centre. March 1.30pm  prompt.
March back Road to the Heritage Centre to the gate at the Bowling Club.

Speakers in front of the Rotunda, which is fenced off for repairs and upgrade.

March back to 1314 In for Scoriach with Fiery Jack. Admission Free. Grand Raffle proceeds to the group. There is also the annual ceilidh in the Tartan Arms later in the village of Bannockburn till late.

Bus leaves Railway Station Car Park, Alexandria 10 am and North Hanover St, off George Square Glasgow, 10.45am prompt. Price £10. Children Free. Book now. Bus will leave the 1314 Inn at 7pm for Glasgow and Alexandria. Those wishing to stay behind for the Tartan Arms will have  to make their own  travel arrangements home.

Permission has been granted for the ceremonial and re-enactment  groups to carry ceremonial and replica weapons. They will not be allowed them in the Inn later. Nae back stabbing allowed.
http://scottishrepublicans.myfreeforum.org/Annual_Bannockburn_Rally_June_22_Saturday_about2520.html 

Farage debacle a chill wind for Scottish politics

Farage debacle a chill wind for Scottish politics

The response to a protest against an anti-immigration, xenophobic political party has been as hard to believe as it has been distorted. The impact on Scottish politics is alarming.

It’s hard to know where to start. There are three crucial elements to the aftermath of the protest against Farage at the tail-end of last week that we should be looking at with some serious concern. The first is England and its understanding of Scotland. The second is the real assault on the concept of free speech. The third is the attempt by the right to control political debate in Scotland. But it is perhaps the combination of these issues in the context of the independence campaign that is the biggest issue for many.

Let’s begin with Scotland/England. The understanding of the constitutional debate in England does not seem to be particularly strong. When you hear everyone from comedians to commentators talking about Scotland it seldom sounds like they have much knowledge about anything other than the Westminster take. This is unsurprising, but worrying. Because a lot of the Westminster take has encouraged the idea that this is really about Scotland being ‘anti-English’. Indeed, if the conversations I’ve had are anything to go by, that is the dominant assumption in England.

Of course, it is very wrong. Very little of the pro-independence campaign contains any sentiment against ‘the English’ whatsoever. Angry sentiment about Westminster, about the City of London, about the UK class system, certainly. Against the English people? Little or none. But the idea that this is some sort of ‘hate agenda’ is encouraged by some opponents of independence.

This reaches all the way to the Guardian. On Saturday it splashed a picture of Farage and Salmond on the front page with the headline ‘The Two Faces of Nationalism’. It gave equivalence to an anti-immigration, reactionary right-wing party and a liberal socially democratic party on the basis that some people who support independence (but who were not SNP) engaged in a human rights protest. Virtually all the coverage (apart from the Financial Times) has been willing to lend credence to Farage’s claims that the protesters were some sort of violent ‘fascists’ and the events have not been properly reported. So it is seldom reported that for 20 minutes, far from being denied a freedom to speak, Farage refused to answer questions from opponents. There was no violence and no real suggestion of illegality. (For a version from the protesters’ side, check here.)

Can you imagine the Guardian taking this approach if it had happened anywhere apart from Scotland? When Peter Tatchell attempted to make a citizen’s arrest on Robert Mugabe for human rights abuses on gays in Zimbabwe and was severely beaten by bodyguards, the Guardian did not report this as ‘the two faces of intolerance’ and give credence to those who said Tatchell was just racist. The Guardian has always been somewhere between hostile and sneering about politics outside London – it’s blatant disdain for regional government in England shows it’s not just the Scots it thinks should continue to take instruction from their beloved London – but the treatment of Scotland in the referendum campaign makes it look more like the Daily Mail than the Guardian, intentionally writing stories in ways that distort the truth for what appears to be a political purpose.

Whether you are for Yes or for No, it cannot be a good thing to create the false impression that large chunks of Scotland somehow hate England. Anyone who thinks this is a cute campaign tactic should think of the long-term effect. We should be crushing slander out of this campaign. Under no circumstances should the Yes side start dismissing the No side as traitors or lacking in patriotism. That would be an awful place to take this debate. The same carries for the No side calling independence supporters ‘anti-English’. Engage on the arguments and stop damaging personal relations across Britain.

The freedom of speech issue is if anything slightly worse. To get an idea of the argument, you could read Brian Monteith in the Scotsman. If you want to avoid the teeth-grinding, the basic argument is that the protesters should be utterly condemned for refusing to recognise the principle of freedom of speech and anyone who does not condemn them is not a democrat. But this argument sounds awfully like the beginning of a tedious joke – ‘there are 20 people in a room – who has the freedom to speak?’. The answer, according to Monteith, is (self evidently) the rich, right-wing xenophobe. According to this line of thinking, if a right-winger is in any public place anywhere (remember, this wasn’t a private press conference, it was a pub which was not asked permission) then everyone else must keep quiet.

Because in this version of democracy it is for the right wing media to decide who is worth hearing. To suggest that, over the years, UKIP has failed to receive political coverage proportionate to its political support would be true only if you mean that it has received grossly disproportionate coverage in favour. The Greens don’t have an in-house national newspaper. Where freedom of speech is really challenged is in trying to get a pro-immigration line into a national newspaper. When this happens Monteith and his like suddenly forget about ‘freedom of speech’ and start talking about ‘freedom of the press’. And if it is truck drivers closing oil refineries in a low-tax protest, suddenly the ‘right to protest’ becomes some underlying principle of society. Indeed, they will pick any freedom on one condition – it isn’t plural. As long as it justifies the domination of one side by the other, that’s Brian’s kind of freedom.

In fact, this doctrine is almost more alarming: what seems to be being argued is that only the political class have a right to be heard. It is presumably because he is a professional politician that he is being granted an ‘freedom of speech’ right that is not being offered to the protesters. It seems to imply a world in which professional politicians must be deferred to on every occasion by ‘mere citizens’. Or it would if it wasn’t the case that whenever a Labour politician was heckled by an anti-immigration protester, the very same media decided that it was the protester who had the right to be heard. Consistency is not part of this argument.
Which moves us neatly onto the third strand – the concerted attempts to demonise the left in Scotland (and particularly the pro-independence left). The Radical Independence Campaign appears in the national media almost exclusively as a sort-of bogey-man figure with which to scare the SNP and the public. The Monteith article demonstrates this perfectly – he spends three quarters of it demanding that people have a freedom of speech and the other quarter demanding that RIC is shunned from public debate (on grounds he doesn’t explain, other than that they are self-evidently horrible people). A recent Scotland on Sunday editorial took this to strange extremes, warning the SNP not to back any socially progressive vision for Scotland but instead to stick to a small-c conservative and big-n neoliberal platform on the basis that if it does this it might lose the referendum respectably and have some chance of greater devolution of power at some point in the future. As political advice, this seems on the odd side.

This problem is a big problem for everyone. Firstly, it helps right-wing politics and the right-wing media in Scotland not a jot. They’ve been doing this since devolution and all their desperate attempts to get Tories into a position of power have come to nothing. The political right in Scotland has little power and the media right has low and declining power. For the anti-independence left and centre-left, the issue is even more toxic. Labour keeps seeming to be caught in the grinding cogs which represent the ‘logic’ of this campaign. The only Labour voices I’ve heard on Farage and his visit to Scotland have come down closer to the side of the Tories and UKIP. In times past it would have been Labour supporters that organised the protest; instead a political narrative is being created in Scotland that places people in positions against their will. Yes, Gordon Brown was sharply critical of UKIP and the Tories in his launch speech of ‘United with Labour’, but the problem Scottish Labour faces is that there isn’t yet any connection between these critical remarks and the constitutional debate. At the moment it can be critical of the rightwards drift of UK politics or it can be in full support of the Union, but it is not convincing when it tries to do both at once. It seems only to have ‘elect Labour’ as its story. But it is going to have to build on that if it is to be persuasive, and it is going to have to find some way to not feel that it is obliged to attack the entire independence movement no matter what. Labour should have spoken out in support of the right to protest (there were some Labour people involved with the protest, I believe).

As for the SNP? Actually, Salmond handled this one reasonably well – defending the right to protest, condeming illegality and making clear his opposition to UKIP policies. But it would be a much more convincing argument if these socially-democratic words were tied to a socially-democratic vision of a future Scotland. If the SNP won independence and UKIP made a breakthrough in the 2015 General Election, the SNP could be condemning Scotland to use a currency manage by a UKIP-Tory coalition.

The blatant and intentional distortion of what happened last week has done nothing other than to inject further poison into the independence debate. If everyone involved is unable to see what is happening in Scotland just now, the long-term implications could be very damaging.
Robin McAlpine
http://reidfoundation.org/2013/05/farage-debacle-a-chill-wind-for-scottish-politics/ 

Scottish Socialist Republic Comment

The recent comments of left wing maverick and Brit George Galloway defies belief. he used the Farage visit to attack supporters of independence implying that in an independent Scotland we would turn on minorities what nonsense!

What is really hated by many Scots is quite simply the UK class system and Westminster London imposed Imperialism and not the minority interests or the English people themselves.

So what  I reproduce is this excellent article by the Jimmy Reid foundation and a correct analysis of the Farage visit and the pro-independence left and what both sides of a different coin mean for Scotland and the independence movement.

What is clear it is foreign for xenophobia politics to be opportunistically imported into Scotland from down south by UKIP,  the Tories, EDL/SDL or any other right wing activists or think tank. 

And through this we will remain mindful about those individuals who would wish to poison the independence debate in Scotland from elsewhere Galloway included.
Larry  
Scottish Socialist Republic

1831 Red Commune Cymru Commemoration

Support for independence could increase if UK leaves EU

Poll Finds More Support Independence If UK Leaves EU.

​
Support for independence could increase if voters think the UK is likely to withdraw from the EU, a new poll by the Sunday Times and Real Radio Scotland has found.
The yes campaign received a boost, putting it neck and neck with the no campaign, when those surveyed were asked to consider the prospect of leaving Europe when deciding how to vote in the 2014 referendum.
The Panelbase poll of 1,004 people for the Sunday Times and Real Radio Scotland recorded support for independence at 36% when it asked "should Scotland be an independent country?''.
Meanwhile, 44% answered no, and a further 20% said they did not know.
But when asked "how would you be likely to vote in next year's Scottish independence referendum if the UK was looking likely to vote to withdraw from the EU?'', 44% said they would be likely to vote yes, matched by 44% likely to vote no, while 12% said they did not know.
Commenting on the poll findings, Ivor Knox, of Panelbase, said: "The prospect of the UK leaving the EU has little impact on those Scots who have formed a view on independence, but among undecided voters three times as many tend to support independence as oppose it, under those circumstances.''
The poll, which was conducted between May 10 and 16, comes after the Conservatives published a draft bill, paving the way for a referendum on Britain's EU membership in the next parliament.
David Cameron wants Britain to remain in the EU under renegotiated terms which he wants to put to the public in an in-out referendum to be held by the end of 2017.
http://www.realradio-scotland.co.uk/news-headlines/poll-finds-more-support-indep/2f5b9 

Scottish Socialist Republic Comment

I am not a great fan of the European Union although I am democratic enough to accept the wishes of the Scottish People on our position in Europe unlike certain Tories in Westminster London. 

And whether we remain in or out of Europe does affect the choices of the undecided voters on Scottish independence. This logically increases significantly to 44% likely to vote yes to independence compared to 44% voting no. While 12% still do not know which way to vote.  

While I am not a supporter of capitalist institutions such as the European Union I could live with representation in Europe with an independent Scottish state. For we have to walk before we can run and we are not going to see Scotland transform itself into a Socialist Republic overnight. The process of socialism will take time and much grassroots struggle so will not happen immediately after a referendum vote for independence in 2014.

Anyway what this Poll does tell us that a significant number of Scots are not as Euro sceptical as our neighbours  down south. Well I say let the people decide and this is another example of evidence that the Yes Scotland campaign have it all to play for in keeping in tune with Scottish desires while persuading the Scots to avoid the pitfalls or dangers of a no vote in the referendum 2014. 
Larry 


 

Launch of Scottish Socialists for Independence

Launch of Scottish Socialists for Independence

 At St Andrews in the Square, Glasgow.
May 28th at 7.30pm.
£10/5 for admission.
A social night with music and politics.
Speakers include...
Marth Wardrop (Co-convenor, Scottish Green Party)
Paul Holleran, Scottish Organiser of NUJ
Blair Jenkins. Chief Exec of YES campaign
Plus speaker from SSI
http://scottishrepublicans.myfreeforum.org/Launch_of_Scottish_Socialists_for_Independence_about2515.html 

Chasing the UKIP leader out of Scotland

Nigel Farage blasts 'fascist' protesters after Edinburgh confrontation

UKIP leader Nigel Farage faced a hostile crowd during a trip to Edinburgh

Continue reading the main story

Related Stories

• Farage swarmed by angry protesters

UKIP leader Nigel Farage has described protesters who besieged him in an Edinburgh pub as "fascist scum".

Mr Farage had to be escorted from the Canons' Gait pub in a police van after angry confrontations on Thursday.
He told BBC Scotland the incident was deeply racist and displayed a total hatred of the English.
Mr Farage called on Scottish National Party leader Alex Salmond to condemn the behaviour. The SNP said the UKIP leader had "lost the plot".
Mr Farage was in Edinburgh to launch his party's Scottish campaign following recent electoral gains in England.

Police said two men had been arrested following the protest.
Speaking to the Good Morning Scotland programme, Mr Farage said: "If this is the face of Scottish nationalism, it's a pretty ugly picture."
He added: "The anger, the hatred, the shouting, the snarling, the swearing was all linked in to a desire for the Union Jack to be burnt."
The UKIP leader said the demonstrators did not represent Scotland and dismissed suggestions his party was an irrelevance north of the border.
"The fact that 50 yobbo fascist scum turn up and aren't prepared to listen to the debate, I absolutely refuse to believe is representative of Scottish public opinion," Mr Farage said.
Condemnation call He said he had heard before that some parts of Scottish nationalism were "akin to fascism" but "yesterday I saw it face-to-face".
Mr Farage also told BBC Radio Four's Today programme that the protesters were "filled with a total and utter hatred of the English".

Nigel Farage: "From the start, all the way though that interview, it was insulting"

"For some reason the British media has never talked about the excesses of Scottish nationalism and how deeply unpleasant they can be," he said.
Mr Farage did not suggest this was anything to do with the SNP as a party.
But he added: "These people were supporters of Scottish nationalism, virulently opposed to the English, all sorts of suggestions as to what we could do with the Union Jack and I would like to hear Alex Salmond come out and condemn this sort of behaviour. I challenge him today to do that."
He said: "If anybody from UKIP says anything on Facebook that is in any way homophobic or mildly racist you guys jump down my throat and demand I condemn them and expel them from the party, which of course I do. It is about time Scottish nationalism was put under the same level of scrutiny."
An SNP spokesman said: "Anyone who heard the interview with Nigel Farage on BBC this morning would have thought he has completely lost the plot."
In a tweet, campaign group Radical Independence called an emergency protest against Mr Farage ahead of his engagement in Edinburgh.
It describes itself as a grassroots and radical campaign for an independent Scotland. It said Mr Farage stood for "bigotry and racism".

Scottish Socialist Republic Comment

There is no doubt that Nigel Farage is a bigot and a racist. And his presence in Scotland is clearly not wanted. In fact any union jack waving bastards are not wanted in this fine Scottish  nation. UKIP are to the right wing of the Conservative Party so no wonder they have no representation in Scotland. And opposition to him is not displaying Anti-English hatred but rather dismay of anything imported here that is remotely foreign to our interests in politics and life.

I hope he will not be back in Scotland we do not need his kind here.
Larry

Supporting independence while ignoring Labour

Scottish independence: Labour launches referendum campaign

The independence referendum will be held on 18 September 2014

Continue reading the main story

Scotland's Future

• MSPs back referendum franchise plans
• Legal wrangle warning over Scots oil
• Independence 'risk' to UK reputation
• Referendum date statement

Labour is launching its own campaign to keep Scotland in the UK, distancing itself from Better Together colleagues.

The party usually works with its opponents inside the pro-Union campaign but said it wanted to put across a "different view" of Scotland's future.
United with Labour co-ordinator Anas Sarwar said the campaign was based on Labour values.
Scottish Labour leader Johann Lamont will be among the speakers at the campaign launch in Glasgow on Monday.

Scottish Socialist Republic Comment

It is interesting that Labour are distancing themselves from the Better Together campaign a failed rat pack of also Tories or Liberals opposed to Scottish independence. But Labour themselves cannot be trusted to deliver a positive message for Scotland's future. For coming up with positive messages or advantages of keeping Scotland in the union is difficult at best and a tall order at worst.

The reality is Scottish Labour is bound up with the UK party and not independent in any way to be trusted what they promise. And Johann Lamont is not a compassionate enough leader hitting out at the so-called "something for nothing" society we have in Scotland.

And we should ask what are your Labour values? In truth Labour today are no better than red Tories and want to keep us in the union that condemns us to years of failed British governments and at worst Tory London Rule!

In contrast the Yes Scotland campaign message is stronger and more sound even for impotent so-called Scottish Labour.

And the proof is in the pudding Yes Scotland is growing in support and the main party of Scottish independence namely the SNP is maintaining strong support amongst voters and in the polls.

We should ignore the soundbites from Labour and concentrate on the winning formula that being a strong prosperous successful Scotland through independence.

For the unionists are only capable of delivering a negative agenda while Yes Scotland gets out on the streets delivering good news to the Scottish public about the advantages of an independent Scotland.
Larry

Daring to be that wee bit different

STUC conference to debate LGBT issues at work

The conference will hear from a range of speakers on issues such as homophobia in the workplace

Continue reading the main story

Related Stories

• 'It's difficult to be gay' in UK businesses Listen
• Lord Browne: Business 'intolerant of homosexuality'

Trade union members from across Scotland are meeting in Glasgow to debate issues affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in the workplace.

The Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) is holding an LGBT workers' conference for a second year.
The STUC maintains homophobia in the workplace is still a significant problem.

Scottish Socialist Republic Commennt

It is healthy that Scottish Trade Union members are debating issues affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in the workplace.

Scottish Socialist Republic weblog is opposed to all forms of homophobia or racism in the workplace or elsewhere.

Indeed as Republican Socialists we celebrate the human right to be different and be proud of that. As left wing socialists we only ask for collective action in times of need. However individualism when it comes to choice and say sexual preference is OK we only oppose individualism when we are dealing with greed or capitalism which interferes with the needs of the many.

And Scottish Socialist Republic wants to see an end to all forms of discrimination whether it be against women, gays, ethnic minorities, immigrants, homeless, unemployed or mentally ill including all disabled people.

Yes the weak or people who are different exist while the British Tory government does not care about. But we care as socialists and we are there in the communities supporting diversity in life.

As someone with a mental health problem I once read a book on MAD PRIDE and why not let us as people with mental health issues stand proud about being that wee bit different to others.

For whether we have issues with disability or are gay we should still get the same protection from the government concerning discrimination and let us say as mentally ill people we are also behind the gay community in terms of human rights. But then again Victorian Britain used to lock us up in psychiatric wards forever and punish us for simply being ill the crime of being sick.

A Scottish Socialist Republic will rectify the situation while an independent Scotland would lead to improvements with a more compassionate government.

For the sake of minority interests we must fight back I know the Socialist Republic would protect us.
Larry

SRSM Declaration of Aims and Principles - Commonly called the Calton Declaration [2005].

We who make [or afterwards subscribe] and adhere to this Declaration are members of the Scottish Republican Socialist Movement [SRSM]. Our Movement's Constitution is contained in two documents of equal status, force and effect: the Articles of Association and this Declaration. Our Movement's name proclaims its goal: the coming Scottish Socialist Republic. Many share our aspiration but the ambition of the SRSM is to deserve Citizenship of that Republic by striving to bring it into existence. We Declare:-

1. The Movement's Object is indivisible and non-negotiable, the historic mission of the SRSM shall be complete only when the Socialist Republic is securely established.

2. Until the achievement of National Independence [without which there can be neither Republic or Socialism] the chief work of the SRSM shall be to engage in the struggle for National Liberation.
The right of Oppressed Nations to Self-Determination is, for us, not a matter of tactical convenience, but of fundamental Socialist principle. Holding that Right to be inalienable, inextinguishable and of universal application, we invoke it on behalf of our Oppressed Nation- once Scotland, "first Nation of Europe": now North Britain, Colony of a Colony.
The SRSM welcomes the Scottish Parliament as a first step to National Freedom. However, Home Rule per se it regards as a snare and delusion. The SRSM respectfully urges upon all it's fellow citizens the only real remedy - unilateral repeal of the Union and the resumption of national independence. Our slogan:
REVOLUTION NOT DEVOLUTION!

3. Convinced that the keys to Scotland's freedom and future are not to be found there: the SRSM turns its back on the Palace of Westminster. If the Movement contests Parliamentary Elections, its successful candidates will sit only in a Scottish Parliament, where they will swear allegiance to none other than Scotland's rightful sovereign, the Scottish People.

4. Any and all such SRSM parliamentary representatives will follow the excellent example set by the Scottish Socialist Party's first MSP in refusing to live on more than the average pay of a skilled worker.

5. Nuclear Weapons, Nuclear Waste and the Industry which makes the one and excretes the other are all alike, useless and dangerous to the Scottish People. Existing weapons and Industry, the SRSM can and must oppose. New weapons, bases, installations, it can and must resist. The Dumping of Nuclear Waste it can and must help to prevent.

6. Scottish Republican Socialists:

i] will never deny to others that which we seek for themselves.
ii] rejecting the infantile ethnocentrism of the "British" Left: do not equate Internationalism with anti-Nationalism - still less with the subjection of the Celtic Peoples to rule from London.
iii] believing on the contrary, that true Internationalism can only begin at home : regard the duty of an Internationalist as being to make the Revolution in his or her own country, or since the Cause is always and everywhere the same, in the country of residence or exile and that the first duty of citizens of an Oppressor Nation is to be "democrats for the Oppressed Nation".
iv] DEMAND: that "Scotland the Brave" be brave no longer in the wars of others, along with other native levies, against those with whom she has no quarrel and in particular that "Ireland's Tragedy shall cease to be Scotland's Disgrace". Our slogan:

BRITAIN OUT OF IRELAND! SCOTLAND OUT OF BRITAIN!

v] holding it to be still true that the major contradiction of our age is that between Imperialism and the Peoples of the whole World: maintain unshakable solidarity with our brothers and sisters who in every land struggle for National Liberation, Socialism and the emancipation of all Humanity.
vi] anticipating the victories of tomorrow, look forward to a long era of harmonious co-operation between our Republic and [among many others] a Welsh Socialist Republic and a 32 County Irish Socialist Republic, and will support the national aspirations of the Basque, Catalan, Breton, Cornish and Corsican peoples.
vii] assuming, as members of a Socialist and Internationalist Movement, our part in and our obligations to the World Wide Movement of the Peoples for Socialism and against Imperialism and War: consider the chief of those obligations to be that of rescuing our Country from the two Imperialisms which imprison and make of her a threat to World Peace.

7. The SRSM, fighting for a just, humane and civilised Society: abhors racism, Fascism and religious sectarianism and shall combat every manifestation of those evils , to the utmost of its strength.

8. The SRSM, similarly: rejects every variety of Unionism/Loyalism [including the infamous Two Nations Theory] and trusts that the inherent contradictions of this nauseous creed will lead soon to its destruction. The SRSM denies the right of Unionists to solve their identity crisis at the expense of the Scottish Nation. The SRSM opposes the Unionism and British Nationalism of British Socialist organisations.

9. Every aspect of Scottish life and politics is bedeviled by the National Question. Until it is solved no other "question" can be. Yet the National Question is at root an International Question. Though prevented from defending her National interests [by those who deny she has any], captive Scotland is deployed rather than defended by the imperialist NATO Alliance. To nuclear powers defence consists of the ability to attack. Scotland is not fortress but threat. Because most threatening she is most vulnerable. Her people face the certainty of obliteration in any all-out war.
The SRSM:
A] demands real Independence and will not rest satisfied with "the continuation of the UK by other means"
B] rejects with contempt any "solution" which makes Scotland a voluntary instead of conscript member of NATO - or of her people a "consenting" instead of voiceless, sacrifice.
C] will resist any attempt to substitute American for British rule over Scotland.

10. The SRSM proposes that Free Scotland:
1] should leave the NATO Alliance and remove any remaining nuclear weapons, and all imperialist troops, bases, stores, installations, warships, military aviation etc; from the National Territory.
2] should pursue policies of Strict Neutrality and Non-Alignment.
3] should be driven from such a position into other military alliances only by "destabilisation" on the part of former allies and rulers, of such intensity as to seriously threaten her sovereignty, integrity and survival.
4] should be defended by democratically controlled Armed Forces, capable of protecting National interests and which, relying on conventional weapons, constitute no threat to anyone, save an invader.
5] should, on becoming a Socialist Republic, rely for her defence primarily upon a Militia drawn from the broad popular masses.


                     "ALL HAIL THE SCOTTISH WORKERS' REPUBLIC!"

11] We are agreed:-

1] That Socialism , often abandoned and betrayed, has not failed.
2] That it remains the highest and best form of social organisation for the World, Country and time we live in.
3] that the Society we envisage will have a Planned Economy, based on Common Ownership and workers democratic control - for the benefit of all.
4] that this Common Ownership shall extend to the "means of Production, Distribution ,Control and Exchange" - and most necessary to Scotland- Land and Natural Resources.
5]that the corresponding form of political organisation of such a Society can only be a Republic.
6]that to call our State anything else would, at this stage in history, be to insult human intelligence, rationality, self-respect and dignity, as well as the radical traditions of Scotland.
7]that the SRSM will accept no form of Socialism until the Republic is declared and we will accept no form of Socialism except Republican Socialism.
8]that the Socialism we advocate is neither, as opponents allege, impossibly idealist - doomed to defeat by "corrupt" human nature nor inhumanely tyrannous.
9]that true Socialism "has a human face", what is inhuman is not Socialist.
10]that Socialism comes not to destroy Democracy but to make it real.
11]that the only "liberty" to disappear under Socialism is the liberty to exploit others; all other Human, Civil and Democratic Rights, shall in our Republic, be vastly extended and guaranteed. It is inconceivable that a secular, civilised and democratic Socialist Republic which we advocate would not have a written Constitution and Bill of Rights which was at least worth the paper it was written on and extendable by referendum.
12]that a Socialism concerned only with the Workers of the "Central Belt" would assuredly fail; our Republic must serve the people of every part of Scotland with equally passionate and effective commitment.
13]that the Republic must end the curse of landlordism forever.
14]that the Republic must encourage a great renaissance of the Scottish culture.
15]that the Republic [and before that the Republican Movement] must do everything to defend the culture's most precious jewel, the Gaelic Language. We will also support the cultural and legal recognition of the Scots Language.
16]that only a Socialist Republic could carry through the revolutionary transformation of every aspect of Scottish life which is so urgently necessary and build, on the basis of a Socialist Economy, a new civilisation as brilliant as it is truly human.
17]that recognising the difficulties involved, the Socialist Republic will be prepared to take all steps necessary to defend the Revolution.
18]that "SCOTLAND FREE OR A DESERT!" is prophecy not threat, the alternative to what we propose does not bare contemplation.

12. Until the coming of the Republic, our Movement must be:
i]Guardian of Scottish Republican Socialist Principles but, beyond essentials, undogmatic.
ii]a "broad kirk" - open to all who support in word and deed this Declaration, but not a cult, or the property of a sect or individual.
iii]single-minded as to its objective, but flexible as to its route.
iv] internally democratic but united in action.




We therefore pick up Socialism's Red Banner [so contemptuously discarded by others] attach it to the Flag of our Nation and march forwards to the Scottish Workers Republic.

http://www.scottishrepublicansocialistmovement.org/Pages/default.aspx 

SNP Riding On The Crest Of A Wave

Support for SNP remains at 2011 landslide levels

A poll published by the Sunday Times shows support for the SNP remains at exactly the same levels as in the 2011 landslide election victory - almost six years into our term in Government.

Derek Mackay, the SNP's Business Convener, has hailed the poll as a fantastic achievement, and writes why he thinks the SNP is still enjoying the same levels of support so far into office.

The SNP continues to move Scotland forward – delivering strong, competent government in the face of Westminster cuts – and the people of Scotland overwhelmingly trust the Scottish Government to act in Scotland’s best interests compared to the Westminster Government.
What we have seen over the last few months is a real threat to the achievements of the Scottish Parliament since 1999 as a result of the failed austerity agenda being implemented by the Tories - with the Labour Party now also committed to implementing the same Westminster cuts agenda in Scotland.
This poll should serve as a stark warning to Johann Lamont that her decision to enter into an anti-independence alliance with the Tories has been met with the same resounding rejection as Labour received in 2011.
The political landscape is also changing in a way which has boosted the case for a Yes vote further – with the Westminster Government now threatening isolation from Europe and from access to the single market of half a billion people. The SNP will continue to act in Scotland’s best interests by advocating independence in Europe, with a voice and votes in the EU to protect and promote our vital national interests.

The Panelbase results are shown below, with the change on 2011 result in brackets
Constituency: SNP 45% (nc) Labour 33% (+1) Con 13% (-1) Lib Dem 5% (-3) Others 5% Regional vote: SNP 44% (nc) Labour 31% (+5) Con 12% (nc) Greens 6% (+2) Lib Dem 5% (nc) Others 3%
Panelbase interviewed a sample of 1004 Scots on January 11-21. Results weighted to provide demographic and political balance.
http://www.snp.org/blog/post/2013/jan/support-snp-remains-2011-landslide-levels

Scottish Socialist Republic Comment

The signs that the SNP popularity continues since 2011 and before just goes to show the party is riding on the crest of a wave. And much of it's success is due to providing good efficient Government at Holyrood.

Another bonus for this stable party is that SNP supporters or voters tend to be loyal. And let's not kid ourselves the SNP is Scotland's main party of independence and therefore national policies count for a lot.

After all the SNP remains a significant main player in supporting the Yes Scotland Campaign that so often we need to remind fellow Scots in the public that a vote for independence in the 2014 referendum is not a vote for the SNP or even an endorsement of it's policies. Independence is bigger than the SNP but without the party's help we would have never have seen an opportunity to vote for Scottish Freedom.

So the SNP in Government have proved helpful for most Scots and thus popular. And their social democratic policies are in tune with Scottish thinking about how to build a caring just society. And that is why I have faith that social democracy remains a good starting point to campaign for a Socialist Republic especially post independence. For removing the layer of British imperialism from Scotland is essential to break down the barriers of despondency. And despite the negative vibes from Westminster the Scots have shown when it comes to voting they are more inclined to listen to positive messages from the SNP thus then again explains their popularity in the polls and ultimately at the Polling Station.

For the duty of the SNP is to assist in the road to independence and not to remain the only driving force in helping make it happen. Because that remains the preserve of Yes Scotland and all pro-independence parties and organisations or individuals.

And the good news is that the SNP remains populist and Yes Scotland are stepping up their campaigning in Scotland's communities. While Better Together the pro-unionist campaign for a no vote in the referendum can only produce 500 questions in their unionist agenda but fail to answer numerous questions on why we should remain part of the British state. Meanwhile Labour's devolution plans are a dog's breakfast and no match for independence while the "Selfservatives" or Tories are listening to nobody in Scotland.

Quite simply we are winning the arguments for Scottish Freedom and the popularity of the SNP in Scottish Government have helped the independence cause as Nationalists prove to be responsible in power while delivering the Scottish NHS and good public services.

And as we soldier on until 18th September 2014 and the referendum we should look also on the SNP success and party being an ally  in helping deliver a groundswell of support for independence before the important day.
Larry
Poblachd Sòisealach na h-Alba  
(Scottish Socialist Republic)

Unionists not trusted on devolution Vote Yes 2014

21st Sept, 2013 - March and Rally for Scottish Independence - Edinburgh

‘Only third of vot­ers be­lieve union­ists’

ONLY a third of vot­ers be­lieve prom­ises made by pro-Union par­ties to de­volve more power to Holy­rood if Scots re­ject in­de­pen­dence, ac­cord­ing to a poll.

The SNP says the YouGov poll, which it com­mis­sioned, high­lights ma­jor flaws in the Bet­ter To­gether cam­paign. They say di­vi­sions over pro­pos­als to de­volve in­come tax is los­ing the pro-Union cause back­ers.

Deputy First Min­is­ter Ni­cola Stur­geon de­scribed the find­ings as “en­cour­ag­ing”, say­ing it showed her party’s “con­struc­tive ap­proach” to the ref­er­en­dum de­bate. How­ever, op­po­si­tion par­ties say they are still look­ing at dif­fer­ent de­vo­lu­tion op­tions.

Scottish Socialist Republic Comment

The less than sure about independence voters look willing to play Russian Roulette with Scotland's future. A no vote would not secure substantial devolution for our nation. Only a Yes vote for independence can guarantee full fiscal autonomy for the Scottish Parliament. 

And without independence welfare and defence would remain in the unpredictable hands of Westminster.  Spending on Trident WMDs and it's retention would continue without change.

Indeed with or without more devolved powers Scots would find themselves trapped in a country ultimately ruled from London. Scots MPs would be forever outvoted by the English MPs on matters important  to and often rejected in Scotland.

While the risk associated with a no vote remains high promises by the unionists of further devolution for Scotland cannot be taken seriously.

Only a Yes vote for independence can deliver the goods of more prosperity and economic security where Scots get the Government they voted for. 

Therefore the argument for independence is about full democracy through the ability to make our own decisions without outside interference.

If we get that self-control over our future we can build a better nation for all Scotland's citizens and end the divisions between wealthy elements and the poor.  

Larry 
 Poblachd Sòisealach na h-Alba
(Scottish Socialist Republic)

   

Cuban Five comrade to remain in Cuba

 
René González has been given permission to remain in Cuba!

In a huge development in the case of the Cuban Five, the court has finally granted a motion, first made last June, to allow René González to serve the remaining portion of his three-year parole in Cuba, after which he will of course be able to remain in Cuba, outside the jurisdiction of the court. Until this time, the court has required him to spend that parole at an undisclosed location in Florida, requiring him to remain in virtual seclusion because of the danger to his life from the very terrorists whose plots he and the other members of the Five came to the U.S. to expose.

René has been in Cuba for two weeks to attend a memorial service for his father Cándido, who died recently.

Phil Horowitz, Rene's attorney, said: "Rene and I are happy that he will be able to be permanently reunited with his family. Rene's exemplary conduct shows that these are not individuals that the government has made them out to be. We are just so happy and will take all the steps pursuant to the court order."

The 7-page court order by Judge Joan Lenard (click to download), describes the requirements for his right to remain in Cuba. The principal requirement is that he renounce his citizenship, which he willingly offered to do previously (René held dual U.S.-Cuban citizenship). To renounce a U.S. citizenship, it must be done outside of the United States, as per U.S. federal code, Section 1481 a(5).

We are extremely happy for René, who has, along with his Cuban Five brothers, been unduly punished for being a proud defender of his people, his homeland and the Cuban Revolution.

This development must give all the Cuban Five supporters great inspiration to continue the fight so that Gerardo, Ramón, Antonio and Fernando can return home immediately

Posted by Admin
http://freethefivenz.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/rene-goes-home.html