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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
The National
23-04-2025
- Politics
- The National
Contrast the quality of reporting on Gaza and Scotland from Sky News
Of course when international journalists are prevented by the IDF from reporting in Gaza and local journalists are also murdered, it is evident to all who do not support this fanatical right-wing Israeli government that the IDF are intent on cynically denying the world the truth of the blatant slaughter of tens of thousands of innocent women and children. READ MORE: Israel kills at least 25 people across Gaza, including in refugee camp This assessment in no way excuses the barbaric attack by Hamas on October 7 (which has been condemned by all reasonable commentators) but hopefully the Sky 'revelation' will encourage more balanced reporting across the UK mainstream media and also encourage the UK Government to finally end its support of the IDF and the carnage inflicted on Gaza and now the West Bank. In the meantime, back in Scotland it would be constructive if Sky TV and the rest of the UK mainstream media showed equivalent rigour and were encouraged to provide more balanced reporting across the UK. Although on a scale of international significance that would be correctly considered 'trivial' by comparison, recent Sky TV news reports have made incorrect statements regarding Scotland's ferries while seeming to stir up gang feuds in Scotland through exaggerated reporting which would have viewers elsewhere thinking there is all-out war between our two largest cities. This shallow, headline-seeking journalism is not helpful and the absence of any mention of England's 'county lines' gangs fuelling drugs rivalries sadly betrays a persistent lack of objectivity and balance when it comes to Sky TV's reporting of news events in Scotland. The Gaza investigation demonstrates that Sky TV journalists can do much better. Stan Grodynski Longniddry, East Lothian IN your report on the so-called UK Supreme Court (UKSC) judgment the other day you had the UKSC 'Coat of Arms' on your front page. This made me think about the real nature of this institution. It claims to be the UK supreme court, which is rather interesting, because there are no other UK courts for it to be 'supreme' over. Indeed, there is no UK legal system. READ MORE: Scottish Government delivers statement after Supreme Court sex ruling The UK functioned for more than 300 years without the need for a 'Supreme Court', so why was it set up in 2009, given a feudal-style 'coat of arms' and made to adopt out-of-date fancy wigs, which make it appear old and established? Could it be that all this flannel is to deceive people into accepting this institution as a long-established part of the legal system in Scotland? Scotland has a separate legal system from England and has had a separate legal system since before the Union, which is confirmed in the Treaty of Union, so what was the purpose of this new 'Supreme Court'? Well, it interprets statute law from Westminster, and common law, but not criminal law in Scotland, so it is not a supreme count in Scotland in a full legal sense. But before it existed statutory law was interpreted in Scots and English law, with appeals going to the House of Lords. This appears to have been quite satisfactory for 300 years, so why the sudden change? READ MORE: Green MSP 'breached law with attack on Supreme Court gender ruling' It seems to me that there is an underlying political reason for the creation of this court. In 2007 the SNP, against all the predictions, and against the electoral system which was specifically designed to prevent any party winning an overall majority in the Scottish Parliament, managed to become the largest party in the Scottish Parliament, and looked like it had the potential to win a majority of seats. That was a big shock for the Unionists, and they looked at what they might be able to do to restrain the nationalists in future. The so-called UKSC was one of their answers to this problem. This new court would give them better control of the interpretation of Westminster statues, and statutes from the 'devolved' Scottish Parliament, including the right of the Scottish Parliament to consider 'reserved' matters. I don't think the Scottish people should be fooled by this flannel: this is a political institution, not a legal one. Andy Anderson Ardrossan THE Supreme Court – an institution for which I do not usually have much time, regarding it as more of an Anglo-centric body – has spoken loud and clear. It has told us what most of us with more than air between our ears have known: what males and females are. I understand that a few people are not happy about their gender; they are what they are and will just have to live with it. There is absolutely no reason why the rest of us should be bothered with their foibles. Returning to the SNP, which in the past has given far too much attention to woke matters; woke, in my view, is not a great vote catcher. A lot more independence and a lot less woke would be welcome from our government. R Mill Irving Gifford, East Lothian
