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The National
26-05-2025
- Business
- The National
Inside the conference that exploded a legal bombshell about the Union
The conference, which took place last weekend, had been planned for more than six months. The Dunfermline Carnegie Conference Centre was a fitting venue as Dunfermline of course served as the de facto capital of Scotland between the 11th and 15th centuries. We had a couple of disappointments when people's diaries didn't line up and even briefly considered cancelling. However, fortunately we didn't cancel and those who missed it can find it on the SSRG TV YouTube channel. As a non-partisan think tank, the SSRG holds weekly meetings and invites many experts to them, both from academia and current and past elected politicians. READ MORE: Former BBC TV presenter and executive Alan Yentob dies aged 78 We seek to address and research the big questions that any new sovereign state needs answered. The most recent publication by the SSRG was on Scotland in Europe, We found that joining Efta and the EEA was the preferable option for Scotland rather than trying to rejoin the EU, especially as Scotland would need to have control over its own currency before applying to rejoin the EU. This is but one major issue political parties must consider before announcing they want to rejoin the EU without carefully weighing the options. So what did people learn while at the SSRG conference? On the Friday there was a panel on social security and pensions which included Tommy Sheridan, Alba Party deputy leader Neale Hanvey, and Jim Osborne. We learned that the UK pension is a Ponzi scheme and that National Insurance is being paid by today's workers to pay today's pensioners and nothing had been invested. This is completely different from the likes of Norway which has a sovereign wealth fund, officially the Government Pension Fund Global. It had a value of around $1.738 trillion as of March this year. The UK has no sovereign wealth fund. A session on what happens on the day after independence saw Jim Sillars and constitutional expert Dr Elliot Bulmer discuss how Scotland will need to negotiate with England on a future trade agreement and the division of assets and liabilities. There was some passionate debate from delegates and this creative dialectic only served to enhance the effect of the conference. Of course, it wasn't all about the big questions. There were a couple of lighter sessions including a Scottish Questions and a Meet the Authors which allowed for more general subjects to be aired. Saturday kicked off with a session on energy policy which included panellists that actually worked in and have experience in the energy sector. It was hosted by the SSRG's Mark McNaught, while Phil Boswell and Rhys Stanwix took questions from delegates. Everyone left the session wiser than before on energy policy. However, the big event saw a panel of legal and constitutional experts one by one started to dismantle the prevailing legal narrative that Scotland was in and had joined a Union with England in the 1706 Treaty and the 1707 Acts of Union. Professor Alf Baird presented how Scotland was living in a colonial mindset reinforced by British-ness in the media or, as I would call it, the BBC. Craig Murray talked about how Scotland must take its sovereignty back. Sharof Azizov, a lawyer from Justice Pour Tous Internationale in Geneva, talked about how he would be taking Scotland's claim to the UN C24 committee for Scotland to be listed for decolonisation. Then evidence was expertly presented by Professor Robert Black KC, who demonstrated that no legal Union was ever created –England continued as before while Scotland was extinguished. The word 'extinguished' became a running joke as I had accidentally used the word to describe the panel instead of 'distinguished'. Ah the joy of live TV. The legal ramifications of what was revealed over the fictitious nature of the Union cannot be overstated. Every treaty the UK has signed in the last 300 years is based on a legal fiction. This is truly a legal bombshell that exploded on to the world stage during our conference. So where does this leave the political parties and the elected politicians? Few of them have taken the time to even question the validity of the British state, yet here we have expert legal opinion based on verifiable documented evidence that the UK is a legal fiction and Scotland is a Non-Self-Governing-Territory (NSGT). By the time you read this the number of people who have viewed this historic session will have reached over 10,000 and none of this could have happened without Sara Salyers, who co-founded Liberation Scotland. The 18,000-plus strong membership group, has for the last few years been navigating the many corridors of the National Archives, historical documents and several dead ends until the full picture could be made clear. After the live transmission on YouTube, Christophe Dorige-Thomson, who had been watching in Jakarta, tweeted to the SSRG that a Scottish woman, called Muriel Stuart Walker, aka K'tut Tantri, attended the 1955 Bandung Conference in Indonesia. She supported its decolonisation through the UN C24 process and pushed the issue across media interviews. This led to Indonesia being the first nation to be decolonised under this process, which led to other nations following it. So my question is, is Sara Salyers the 21st-century Muriel Stuart Walker? I do hope so.
The National
23-05-2025
- Politics
- The National
Why are independence supporters acting like ‘now is not the time?'
In the first place, if Alba and the SNP make an election pact prior to an election, it could be seen by the Election Commission that they are only one party, so it isn't going to happen. What the two parties do after an election is up to them, and I hope they join forces to help persuade Westminster and whoever else needs a shove in the right direction. Secondly, even Michael Gove said that we may not need a second vote. I may not trust him as a politician but with the Scottish Sovereignty Research Group (SSRG) petition on the desk of the United Nations, he's maybe right for a change. And as the petition has been with the UN for nearly two months now, don't try and tell me that the red and blue Tories don't know about it yet! The SSRG conference at the weekend was certainly an eye-opener, especially the Saturday afternoon talk on the petition at the UN and the points therein. If you didn't manage to see it over the weekend, catch up on Youtube (SSRGTV). If we can persuade the UN of our case, we won't need a referendum as such, we just need to demand what is ours by right under international law and assert our rights. Some years ago in this very paper, people were already talking about a petition to either the European court or taking it straight to the UN. The petition is there now, and we have some backing already so it's now a matter of moving on and starting acting like the independent country we want to be. That means that the next election for Holyrood must be a majority vote for independence-backing parties. In the meantime, let us start getting some ambassadors out there even if it is unofficial, and get talking to heads of state and persuade them that we are a country, and above all else that we are an independent country and well able to manage our own affairs. At the end of the day, it's when other countries see us as being independent that we actually become independent. Alexander Potts Kilmarnock A QUITE extraordinary event took place at the SSRG conference on Saturday in Dunfermline, when Professor Robert Black announced that he had examined the papers prepared by Sara Salyers and the Liberation Group for the United Nations Decolonisation Committee and believed the case was a strong one and showed that Scotland was not a partner in the Treaty of Union but had in fact been annexed by England after 1707. Professor Black was part of an amazing line-up and the first expert in Scots Law to support the Liberation case. The lead person in the Liberation team, Mr Sharof Azizov from the organisation Justice pour Tous Internationale, was also at the conference and stated that the UN would examine Scotland's case without interference by the UK Government because of the process involved. This procedure will be supported by Mr Craig Murray, former diplomat, who was also on the panel. Professor Alf Baird, another panel member, would perhaps argue that the lack of media interest in the conference reflects the stasis that is a stage in the liberation process where the status quo is frozen in inaction – unable or unwilling to acknowledge what is changing. This procedure will be viewed with interest by the international media, who are also watching the UK Government's position on Gaza and its relationship to the International Court of Justice. Maggie Chetty Glasgow
Scotsman
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Scotsman
Scotland's constitutional future under scrutiny as legal case for de-colonisation set to be unveiled
Three-day conference in Dunfermline to examine Scottish self-determination and publish legal opinion challenging UK constitutional stance Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... A three-day constitutional conference beginning Friday is set to challenge long-held assumptions about Scotland's status within the United Kingdom, as legal and academic voices gather to explore whether the country should be considered for de-colonisation under international law. Organised by the Scottish Sovereignty Research Group (SSRG), the event—titled The Next Steps—will run from 16 to 18 May at the Carnegie Conference Centre in Dunfermline. The conference will host a range of speakers including academics, legal professionals, economists and political figures, with scheduled sessions covering subjects such as the establishment of a Scottish currency and central bank, pensions, and energy policy. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad A central moment of the gathering is expected on Saturday afternoon, when a new legal opinion will be published during a session titled 'Decolonisation & Self Determination'. According to SSRG, the opinion will challenge the UK government's constitutional position on Scotland and argue that the country qualifies for the United Nations de-colonisation process. This would align Scotland with nations such as India, Pakistan, Ghana and Malaya, which were removed from the list of territories under colonial rule during the mid-20th century. The Sovereignty Research Group Limited Since the 2014 independence referendum, the UK government has declined to grant permission for a second vote on Scotland's constitutional future. Former prime ministers Theresa May and Boris Johnson both cited the timing as inappropriate. SSRG's director and chairman, David Henry, criticised the continued refusal. 'Many countries have ended British rule but Scotland seems to be in a unique position—told it is in a union of equals, while simultaneously needing permission to leave it,' said Henry. 'It's long overdue that Scotland takes its future into its own hands.' The conference will also address whether Scotland has ever been part of a voluntary union with England. The SSRG previously held a similar event in 2022, which drew attention in the pro-independence media. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Among the presenters is Sara Salyers, co-founder of Liberation Scotland and Salvo, a campaign group with over 18,000 members. Salyers is expected to present arguments supporting the inclusion of Scotland on the UN's list of non-self-governing territories. 'After two years of research and legal consultation, we can now make a confident case,' she said. 'Countries do not ask for permission to end colonisation—they demand it.'
