Will support for our independence soon be deemed illegal?
recognised Ukraine’s sovereignty and independence within its existing borders, in line with the principles of the earlier 1975 Helsinki Accords. This committed Russia, and the other signatories, to refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of the signatories to the memorandum. They clearly have broken their word, and no amount of conspiracy theories espoused by Putin apologists regarding the motivations of the West can justify an invasion of a democratic and sovereign neighbour based on Putin’s Russian imperialist world view.
I would have expected a supporter of independence for Scotland to have some understanding of the difficulties which can arise with a larger neighbour with a different perspective. Ukraine remains determined to be a free, democratic European state. The people of Ukraine continue to fight with great courage in circumstances beyond anything we in Scotland can imagine
The people of Ukraine continue to fight with great courage
having to face in our own battle for independence, and are deserving of all our support.
Alan Davidson Edinburgh
JUST when we thought the sickening obscenities like the murder by the Israel forces of innocent men, women, children and babies, denial of food and water, destruction of hospitals and homes, sniping of innocents, desecration of the buried dead, annihilation of Palestinian cultural heritage and other horrors had reached its lowest level of depravity, we are now told of the further obscenity that the Israeli forces are taking selfies among the destruction.
On a TV channel recently we were informed that all the above was not being shown to the public in Israel. If was is happening is no collective punishment, ethnic cleansing and genocide, what in the name of god is! Bobby Brennan
Glasgow
THE front-page headline of Tuesday’s National really highlights a huge potential threat to the democratic right of protest and freedom of expression in this country – an affront to democracy and democratic values!
Indeed, Tommy Sheppard’s comments and concerns provide serious warnings of what one could expect in the future if this extreme form of governance is allowed to morph into a monstrous political stranglehold on our democratic human rights in Scotland. One could visualise the possibility of the “nasty party” using this type of vicious dictatorship against those in Scotland who oppose the Union, Brexit, the use of the GB logo and the monarchy, and despise a British government that the Scottish electorate never votes for!
An eventual extreme outcome, an Orwellian scenario, could unfold in the years ahead where support for Scotindy is deemed unlawful. Therefore, The National could cease publishing altogether or change its “raison d’etre” and support the fractured Union?! Believe in Scotland, Wings over Scotland, Women for Independence, AUOB etc etc
– all banned?! And ultimately, the Scottish Parliament shut down altogether – too much of a threat to the interests of the government of Englandshire and the extreme English nationalists who wish to suppress opponents who don’t share their draconian values?
I recall in November last year, after attending the “Break-Up of Britain” symposium dedicated to the great Tom Nairn, what followed was so annoying and concerning as the usual orchestrated right-wing Brit media used an extreme “separatists” label to emphasise their distaste of a meeting that didn’t suit their own political agenda or that of their political masters in London, and those of other Unionist political parties that are massively undemocratic when it comes to discussing the Scottish constitution and the sovereign right of the Scottish people to gain self-determination from a failed Union.
The described “separatists” comprised teachers, academics, lawyers, thespians, students, university reps and many other people covering a broad spectrum of Scottish society. Any impartial observer would be alarmed at the type of extreme language/propaganda being used by these chancers, and how far they would go to effectively suppress all opposition. As Tommy Sheppard said himself: “We should regard it as a threat to our right to argue for democratic change and it should be resisted”. Absolutely!
Bernie Japs Edinburgh
IT seems to the Conservatives that the country is coming under the control of the extremists on the right. We keep hearing phrases like “far right” and “mob rule”. Do they not realise that this is an accurate description of their party and it is they who are peddling the hatred and, as usual, trying to turn two sets of people against each other?
We keep hearing about the “will of the people”, and this is something journalists of all sides should be calling them out on! They are actually elected to represent the will of the people and not their parties’ interests.
They keep banging on about “British values” as if this a gold standard when in fact they are talking up little Englander values. The Conservative view of “British values” dates back to the days of empire and those of the Victorian workhouse era and has no place in a modern society.
The Tories have passed their sell-by date and no tuppence ha’penny cut in tax will reverse this. Be very aware that when they say they want to move the country to a low-taxed economy that it will be funded by closing all services and making you pay for them!
Steve Cunningham Aberdeen
find out what’s hot in the canine world. Crufts 2023 Best in Show winner was Orca the Lagotto Romagnolo from Croatia. The four-year-old was the first of her breed to take the top prize, with her owner Sabina Zdunic Sinkovic.
Darren McGarvey: The State We’re In (BBC2, 9pm)
THE second of Darren McGarvey’s explorations of Britain’s public services investigates the state of the UK’s classrooms. He asks why the privately educated still dominate Britain’s top jobs, and learns about some of the remarkable state schools that are working to level the playing field. He travels to Gordonstoun in the north of Scotland, which he learns is a school fit for – literally – a king, as both King Charles and his father Prince Philip were educated there. But will he learn what it is that gives privately educated pupils such a clear advantage?
The Apprentice (BBC1, 9pm)
THIS week the teams are tasked with designing, creating and branding a brand-new cereal. Their product will be aimed at six to eight-year-olds so healthiness is important, however one team’s overtly bland recipe leaves a bad taste in the mouths of potential buyers. The other team, meanwhile, makes their box so boring that few may even bother tasting it.