Tuesday 13 July 2021
The extremism of the SNP
There has been a very large amount of concern lately concerning the rout of travel that Nicola Sturgeon has been taking the independence movement and indeed what seems to be extreme policies in regard to trans rights together with the amount of undue influence certain organisations such as Stonewall seem to be applying to the Scottish government. Worse still, it would appear that the Scottish government again led by Nicola Sturgeon seem to be granting Stonewall inordinate amounts of money which in turn they use to lobby the same government with their extreme policies in regard to children’s education.
I attach a blog I wrote in June 2015 which you will note was just after the 2015 General election when we sent 56 SNP members to Westminster. The propose of the blog was to highlight the extremism of a Facebook site named Yes 2. You will note that it was set up it would seem, using a data base of SNP members and politicians and a great many people, including myself, were added to the site without their permission or knowledge.
The propose of the site was to filter out any concern or criticism of SNP policies and in doing so, inhibit free speech. When I gave my concerns , I was removed from the site. I wrote to Peter Murrel giving my concerns and was assured by him that he would investigate the site. Needless to say nothing was done.
Quite plainly, what was being attempted ( very poorly) was to gather together a very large slice of the independence movement including politicians, quite possibly by very dubious means and again quite possibly using SNP data bases. Herding them into a group where they could be manipulated ( again unsuccessfully) filtering out descension and honest debate.
What must be bourn in mind is that one of the the persons responsible for this you will note is Mike Strachan, at that time he was an officer of the SNP based at Dundee West office in Lochee, I believe he was treasurer, therfore presumably had access to SNP data bases . He then became political assistant to Chris Law MP, and partner to Shona Robison MSP at that time heath secretary.
My complaint to Peter Murrel regarding possible breaches of the Data act and the fact that SNP politicians were in effect participating in this oppressive behavior was never officially investigated , however shortly after my complaint there was an exodus of politicians from the site and it no longer operates, or at least not in the manner it was initially set up.
There is something very dark at the heart of the SNP and it is nothing new, in fact I would say it can be traced back to when Nicola Sturgeon took over the leadership.
I refer to a posting (copied below) in the Yes 2 site today referring to debate by people who expressed an opinion on UDI.
First let me say that I agree wholeheartedly with Mike that there is absolutely no need for any abuse of any kind in any of these debates, whether it be between members of opposing factions as in the Yes versus the No campaigns or, and more especially, between people within the grass roots Yes movement and remember, the Yes grass roots organisations conducted their referendum campaign all in their own ways, separate from the SNP.
However, and this is a big however, I do object to some of the content, tone and accuracy of the piece and let me say at this point that I personally at this moment in time do not think UDI is the best way forward, so here are my concerns.
Firstly Mike, who is the “we” you represent in this piece? Is there some sort of committee set up to monitor the views expressed on the site? Or are you being a self (or otherwise) elected spokesman/ champion of the SNP and if so can you let us ( the people who have joined this site from grass roots organisations in the belief that it would be a forum for open and honest discussion) know who in the SNP encouraged you to write this piece?
You make the following statement: –
. “We all know that UDI more often than not results in bloodshed, death and often civil unrest or war. We know the government is killing people, but to kill more and still lose independence is simply not the answer. If independence is not achieved through democratic means, then it will not be recognised”.
First of all, “We” all, know nothing of the sort, but it was nice of you to make up “our” minds for us.
I would assume that you allude to the most recent claim of UDI which was made by Kosovo around 2008. Well, it might be of interest that the bloody war that preceded this declaration was started as a result of, guess what? Yes, a referendum in Serbia.
There was a period of peace / cease fire imposed by the UN /NATO and then after some years the government of Kosovo declared independence from Serbia, UDI. This has been recognized by a sizable majority of countries and the international court of justice together with the UN.
It may further interest you to note as below the opinion of the British government and please note this particular part of the statement which should have resonance given the treatment meted out to out democratically elected MP’s this very week in Westminster.
• “ , has made it quite clear, that, given the legacy of abuse, it cannot again become part of Serbia. Courts do not order estranged spouses to continue in a broken marriage. “
United Kingdom
10 December 2009 Daniel Bethlehem QC, Legal Adviser to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office • Serbia by initiating proceedings before the ICJ wants to set back the clock, and seeks an advisory opinion that would compel Kosovo to re-engage with Serbia over its status. There is, however, no reason whatever to believe that an agreed outcome would be any more achievable now than it was in the past. The United Kingdom warns about the misleading approach of Serbia, which would like the court to assess the legality of the declaration, ignoring the events that led to it.
• Serbia has made it quite clear that it will never accept an independent Kosovo. Kosovo, for its part, has made it quite clear, that, given the legacy of abuse, it cannot again become part of Serbia. Courts do not order estranged spouses to continue in a broken marriage.
• Although the Resolution 1244 referred to the territorial integrity of Yugoslavia, this principle was not the cornerstone for a political solution of Kosovo’s status. The United Kingdom did not come to support independence for Kosovo quickly or easily and does not see these proceedings as adversarial to Serbia. Serbia’s democracy is not much older than Kosovo’s. Independence of Kosovo brought stability to the region after a traumatic decade. The common future for both Kosovo and Serbia lies in eventual membership for both States in the European Union and the United Kingdom will continue to work towards the realization of that vision.[99]
Now Mike this brings me to the next part of your piece where you say:-
“If independence is not achieved through democratic means, then it will not be recognised. If it is not recognised we will be sanctioned against. Who would we trade with if not the UK, the EU or indeed most of the developed world. Who would protect us if not NATO and the UN? Who would pay our pensions if not the UK? Who would fly to our airports if not all major airlines? Who would buy our oil and whisky if not the developed world? Who would employ us as citizens of a sanctioned country? The list goes on and on.”
You could almost get a job with “Project fear “Mike writing that hysterical nonsense. It is almost like watching the BBC during the referendum campaign.
Do you think any perceived Unilateral declaration of Independence would not be preceded by negotiations with trading partners, the international court of Justice , the UN and NATO ? of course it would . Countries leaders do not sit in a darkened room having a few drinks get themselves fired up and then suddenly go out in the street and declare UDI.
Seriously Mike ,if you and whoever “we” are seriously wishing this site to be credible then you must stop trying to stifle honest debate or you become nothing more than another Labour party and if you by some chance are acting on behalf of the SNP and in some way trying to keep the lid on this UDI movement then stop it or you will lose all credibility.
As I have already said, I do not at this point think that UDI is advisable, but I do know what is inadvisable and that is to try to silence those who do not agree with you.
Bob
I append the posting that I am referring to below.
Mike Strachan
9 hrs • Dundee
Good morning everyone! It’s been an amazing couple of weeks watching you all join the group and seeing the numbers grow. We are all independence minded and want what is best for our country.
However, we have become increasingly concerned regarding the amount of aggression being shown to certain members when they try to explain why a democratic referendum is currently the only way, we can look to achieve our freedom. We all know that UDI mire than often results in bloodshed, death and often civil unrest or war. We know the government is killing people, but to kill more and still lose independence is simply not the answer. If independence is not achieved through democratic means, then it will not be recognised. If it is not recognised we will be sanctioned against. Who would we trade with if not the UK, the EU or indeed most of the developed world. Who would protect us if not NATO and the UN? Who would pay our pensions if not the UK? Who would fly to our airports if not all major airlines? Who would buy our oil and whisky if not the developed world. Who would employ us as citizens of a sanctioned country. The list goes on and on. For a UDI to actually work properly, we would need well over 2.2 million people to be proven supporters of independence and we all know that will never happen. And if you tried to prove that, what would you do, take a vote????? That’s what a referendum is. And we certainly wouldn’t need over 2.2 million people for it to work.
We are all for healthy debate and discussion but need to remind people this is not a group or forum pushing for UDI. We are pushing towards the next referendum. As support for independence is still around the 48-50% we need to find patience within us and work forward. We need to peacefully and in a friendly way, win over no voters. Please feel free to post articles and page links in the group that members can go on to share on their own timeline in the hope NO voters will have a read and maybe come to the group for further information. And that information has to be non-aggressive.
Do not post aggression or foul language. It will not be tolerated.
We are on this journey together everyone. Let’s make it peaceful and inviting. Aggression will lose us our independence.
Thank you and here’s to a better future.
Mike Strachan
Admin
I will leave readers to make up their own minds as to the motives behind this site bearing in mind that we are now almost 7 years from the last referendum, 7 years into the leadership of the SNP, and the independence movement by Nicola Sturgeon.
We are literally going nowhere on that road to independence.
Bob
Bob Costello 