The Celtic League / Celtic Congress Cornish Branches

[Fulup le Breton]

The saying 'enemy of my enemy is my friend' holds more than true for the Celtic nations of Europe. Union is strength!

The Celtic League: http://www.manxman.co.im/cleague/

Yet again a fantastic political organisation that does great things for the Cornish nation the latest being the birth of CornishNotEnglish.com. However another group with far too few members and limited funds, so much so that the leagues publication CARN (highly recommended) is in danger of disappearing.

The Celtic Congress: http://www.evertype.com/celtcong/cc-home-en.html

A different kettle of fish altogether but just as important. The Celtic Congress was founded in 1902 in order to promote the knowledge, use, and appreciation of the languages and cultures of the six Celtic countries. National Branches of the Congress meet in an International Congress each year in order to help further these aims.

To be blunt they, like all the other Cornish orgs, need your support, ideas and money.
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The Cornish Democrat
Cornish Against Racism
The Breton Connection

[Jack Sparrow]

CELTIC NATIONS FACE ELECTION CHOICES


On 23rd April another election will take place in one of the Celtic
countries, as the people of Brittany vote in the first round of the
French Presidential elections. This election follows on from the north
of Ireland Stormont Assembly elections last March 7th. On May 3rd
there will also be elections in Cornwall, Scotland and Wales, but
will any of these elections signal a change for the Celtic countries
in terms of greater autonomy? There will also be a General Election
in the south of Ireland later this year.

Ireland

The first election this year was in the north of Ireland where people
participated in elections for the Stormont Assembly on 7 th March.
This led to a power sharing government with the loyalist DUP's Ian
Paisley as First Minister and nationalist Sinn Féin's Martin McGuiness
taking the Deputy Minister post.

Turnout was marginally higher at the polls than in the 2003 elections
and in the words of Sinn Fein, the agreement "marks the beginning
of a new era of politics on this island". It does finally seem that
things are moving forward again, but the test of this will be over
the next few years once the Assembly Government has had a chance to
work together.

Meanwhile in the south, General Elections will also soon be called
for the 30th Dáil Éireann. Indeed Sinn Féin could indeed hold the
balance of power in these elections as they are widely tipped to increase
their representation. As the only all Ireland political party, if
Sinn Féin secures a more significant share of the vote it could indeed
prove interesting in the Six Counties. Currently, Ireland's Government
is made up of a Fianna Fáil-Progressive Democrat coalition.

Brittany

In the French Presidential elections affecting Brittany, of those
nationalists who go out to vote, the opinion of who to elect to the
most powerful position in the state remains divided. L'Union Démocratique
Bretonne (UDB) are calling on their members to vote for the Green
candidate Dominique Voynet. Voynet has called for France's ratification
of the European Charter for Regional and Minority languages and a
reunified Brittany.

Voynet however, has no chance of getting through to the second round
of elections, so many Breton nationalists may not vote for her at
all in the hope of preventing the much feared Niolas Sarkozy from
gaining power, who could set the Breton cause back years. On the other
hand Segolénè Royal, even though some are saying that she supports
important changes, her track record does not suggest that things will
change for the better should she win. On the contrary she is all too
likely to maintain the status quo, which is a situation that Brittany
needs to move away from at all costs.

Some nationalists in Breizh therefore are calling for a vote for the
surprise candidate Francois Bayou, who has also called for the reunification
of Brittany and the French ratification of the European Charter mentioned
above. The difference between him and Royal however is that Bayrou
is a speaker of Occitan himself. He has also promised to increase
democracy in the state, increase devolution and ensure a better balance
of power. However during election time talk is cheap and Bayrou, no
one really knowing what he is capable of, may be just appealing to
Breton sentiments.

Cornwall

In Cornwall, Mebyon Kernow is fielding more candidates than they have
ever done before in the district, town and parish council elections.
In total, thirty four different people have been nominated and it
is already known that eleven town and parish council candidates have
been returned unopposed where there were insufficient nominations
to force a contest, including three seats on Truro city council. In
addition, over the last few months a number of councillors have joined
MK from other parties.

Nevertheless Cornwall is still largely dominated by the Liberal Democrats,
who despite having representatives on virtually every council and
hold all 5 parliamentary seats, have done very little for the Cornish
cause. Recently it is being widely felt that the Lib Dem dominated
Celtic nation is actually holding progress and democracy up. Let's
hope that the people of Cornwall make this clear in May and vote for
the nationalist cause.

Wales

Plaid Cymru have recently launched an advertising campaign in an attempt
to simply get people out to vote (for anyone) in the forthcoming elections,
when it was estimated that less than 40% of the electorate are expected
to turn out. The elections, for the Welsh Assembly Government, could
prove important for Plaid who is being tipped to form a future coalition
Government. There is currently speculation about whom Plaid would
form an alliance with and despite very public accusations from Labour
that Plaid will form a coalition with the Conservatives if they gained
significant control, this claim is as preposterous as it sounds. It
is more likely that should Plaid increase their representation in
the Assembly, some sort of alliance with the Liberal Democrats seems
closer to the truth.

On the other hand the Green Party Wales/Plaid Werdd Cymru will also
be contesting all Welsh Assembly seats in Wales this May and depending
on their success, a reaffirmation of the Plaid/Green pact would be
a welcome development. Plaid already shares their Parliamentary grouping
with the Greens in the European Parliament under the European Free
Alliance.

At this time it does indeed seem a straight contest between Plaid
and Labour for control of the Assembly, but no doubt about it, a return
of a Labour Government with reduced Plaid representation would be
a knock for the devolution process.

Scotland

In Scotland the electioneering campaign is being vigorously fought,
with Labour visibly looking concerned by the increase in support of
the Scottish Nationalist Party. The SNP have promised a referendum
on independence if they get into Government in 2010 and with opinion
polls suggesting that Labour's current majority looks set to fall
in 2007, opening the way up for a possible SNP-Liberal Democrat coalition
Government that could also extend to the Scottish Greens, it certainly
seems that this is one promise that could well be honoured.

The 3rd May election will come just two days after the tercentenary
of the Act of Union between Scotland and England and whether Labour
will use this anniversary to foster loyalist support remains to be
seen. Recent public support for independence from respected international
business and political leaders such as Sir George Mathewson, the former
chairman of the Royal Bank of Scotland and Mr Gerry Collins, former
Irish Foreign Minister and Member of the European Parliament, have
embarrassed Labour Prime Minister Blair and along with him the Scottish
Labour Executive.

Conclusions

This year is certainly a year of elections for the Celtic countries.
All countries, excepting the Isle of Mann (Mannin had a General Election
in November 2006 which brought little change - government policy is
still based on financial services with the untrammelled immigration
that sustains), will experience some sort of election this year and
the changes that have and are predicted to take place will indeed
show their influence in the coming years, hopefully to the benefit
of our different nations.

The real major concern to the League in these elections is the possible
consequences for Brittany if the current French Presidential favourite,
Sarkozy, secures office. Sarkozy is a man who does not or cannot see
that Brittany exists as a distinct Celtic cultural and linguist entity
in its own right. For him the French state is all important and no
other culture or language exists inside the state, except French.

Indeed Sarkozy is a real threat for the political, democratic, cultural
and linguistic development of Brittany and if he is elected the Breton
nationalist movement, including the League, will really have its work
cut out.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/celtic_league/message/2176

[Jack Sparrow]

A new declaration recognising the Isle of Man's identity and interests will give confidence to businesses on the island.

Chief Minister Tony Brown MHK, who signed the document on behalf of the Manx Government, said:

‘This is a significant step forward in the Isle of Man’s evolution as a mature and responsible democracy. It confirms in writing that the Island has its own distinct and legitimate interests on the world stage, which may differ from those of the United Kingdom.
‘The understanding that has been reached should help the Isle of Man to flourish as a reputable centre for international business. There is now greater clarity about the Island’s position, which will be useful in dealing with governments, organisations and businesses around the globe.’

The document was signed by Mr Brown and the Lord Chancellor, Lord Falconer, on behalf of the UK.

The island is a self-governing dependent territory of the British Crown which is not part of the UK but is a member of the Commonwealth.

Historically, the UK has taken responsibility for international matters affecting the island on the world stage.

In recent years - with its rise as an international business centre - the island has started to deal directly with other governments.


http://www.gov.im/lib/news/cso/internationalide.xml

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/isle_of_man/6614991.stm

[Fulup le Breton]

The Kernow branch of the Celtic league is growing in size: http://www.agencebretagnepresse.com/fetch.php?id=7047&title=KERNOW:%20CORNISH%20BRANCH%20REPORT%20SUCCESFUL%20AGM

Read the report here.

Still room for plenty more members no doubt.
_________________
The Cornish Democrat
Cornish Against Racism
The Breton Connection

[Scottish Republican]

The yahoo group used to get a lot more press coverage - they don't pick up the stuff like they used to.

[Fulup le Breton]

The Celtic League 50 years on

The Celtic League Director of Information (DoI) has said that theLeague faces difficult decisions in the years ahead if it is to adapt its role to meet the needs of the Celtic countries today.

Speaking on the 'Talking Heads' programme on Manx Radio this week Bernard Moffatt said the political and cultural landscape in the Celtic countries today is markedly changed from that almost fifty years ago when the Celtic League was founded.

Politically there has been major change in several Celtic countries with a parliament in Scotland an Assembly in Wales and new political movement in the North of Ireland. However, he said that the objectives of the Celtic League, to promote a formal association between (at least two of) the Celtic countries, are still far from being achieved. Ireland is still only partially independent and despite the devolution moves in Wales and Scotland full independence was still an aspiration. Speaking as a life long Manx nationalist he said it was sad that Scotland would probably eclipse Mannin in achieving full independence and criticised the Manx governments satisfaction with its dependency status.

Culturally moves, particularly in relation to the Celtic languages, had also been more positive in recent years. However, he singled out the French governments negative attitude towards the Breton language saying it was part of a generally hostile stance by the centralised French State to any minorities in its borders.

One of the key features of the Celtic League contribution over the years has been the continued production of the journal Carn with its regular article in each Celtic language. The DoI said that advances in communication not least via the Internet and the wide range of available material on both cultural and political life in the Celtic countries had led the League to seriously consider the future of Carn. The journal is continuing in the short term but its future is under review.

Reviewing the campaigns the League have engaged in over the years the DoI said that some people in Mannin often assumed it was a 'Manx based organisation' and this misconception was not helped by the significant numbers of senior positions in the League held by Manx people in times past. However he said that in recent years the 'officers' of the League are drawn more widely from the Celtic countries and our campaigning record, particularly as recorded on the Internet news groups (see below), shows a broad range of issues being pursued involving all the Celtic countries.

Looking ahead the DoI said that the future in many of the Celtic countries was brighter than at any time in the recent past. However he singled out Kernow and Breizh as being two countries where the picture was not so positive. He said Kernow deserved the same devolved status as other Celtic countries in the United Kingdom. He also criticised recent police harassment of Celtic League members their.

In respect of Breizh the Director of Information reiterated that the main stumbling block was the stifling attitude of the centralised French State to Breton linguistic and political aspirations. He said that French hostility to Breton nationalism was from another era that most other Celtic countries had now left behind. He said the French were also hostile to the inter-celtic solidarity demonstrated by groups such as the Celtic League towards Brittany, an illustration of this was surreptitious police harassment at the Leagues last AGM in Brittany.

Finally, the DoI said the Celtic League was coordinated and directed by its Annual General (and Council) Meetings and had achieved an ambitious programme of work over fifty years. It had accomplished this solely from membership contributions and unlike many organisations received no stipend of financial support from any other source.

The Celtic League has branches in the six Celtic Countries. It works to promote cooperation between these countries and campaigns on abroad range of political, cultural and environmental matters. It highlights human rights abuse, monitors all military activity and focuses on socio-economic issues.

Internet site at: http://celticleague.net/
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The Cornish Democrat
Cornish Against Racism
The Breton Connection

[Scottish Republican]

The trouble is that more than once, Bernard Moffatt has written stuff without bothering to consult the people in the local organisations. For example, he put out a press release about the new Tory shadow minister for Cornwall, and said that David Penhaligon had been a Tory!

Bernard's a good guy in some ways, but it can seem like talking to a brick wall when your interests and his don't match.
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Scottish not "British"

[Fulup le Breton]

Q) What has the Celtic League been up to in the Duchy over the past twelve months?

A) Set up and developing website for a bilingual Cornish/English language preschool in Cornwall with other interested parties.

Making links with key individuals/ organisations to promote/organise the school in Cornwall and Man.

Registering the company.

General campaign work in support of Tony Leamon, including creating campaign videos and an unofficial Cornwall police Watch blog.

Set up a dotKER internet site, petition and registered domain name.

Support for gay rights movement in Cornwall.

Continued campaign for a St Piran’s Day Holiday, focusing on town and city Councils.

Took part in the consultation process of a ‘Better Place to Be’ document (Culture in the South West).

Lobbying Council and police in Cornwall to raise awareness of racism.

Devon and Cornwall Police – Language and cultural commitment.

Letters of complaint to Council about Unitary Authority application and status and promotion of Cornwall by the BBC as a county of England.

Continuing of campaign for affordable housing e.g. publicising news in Cymru (mainly through Cymuned links and writing of news items for their newsletter).

Complaints to the Press Complaints Commission about a prejudiced article about the Cornish in a west of England newspaper.

Sending press releases to Cornish press.

Complaint to West Britton newspaper about portrayal and inaccurate information about League.

Complaints to Cornwall 24 news site about libel remarks about the Celtic League and the Kernow Branch, including references to individual members.

Urging Cornwall County Council, Devon and Cornwall Police and British Muslim Council to do more to improve relations between ethnic minorities in Cornwall and the general population, following racist attacks on Asian centre.

Support of EU Protected Geographical Status for Cornish pasty.
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The Cornish Democrat
Cornish Against Racism
The Breton Connection