ALL Under One Banner is making its contribution to the Now Scotland Day of Action tomorrow with a small static rally in Glasgow’s George Square from 1pm.
Had the pandemic gone away, the AUOB organisers would have gone ahead with a march and rally in the city on May Day, and doubtless tens of thousands of Yes supporters would have attended but all such processions have been cancelled in line with the Scottish Government’s advice on keeping people safe.
Speaking on Barrhead Boy’s Through A Scottish Prism podcast, AUOB national organiser Neil Mackay urged people who have not registered to attend the rally to stay away from George Square.
“This is not a mass gathering,” said Mackay. “It’s not even a social gathering, and in the coronavirus regulations it comes under outdoor activity.
“I have been speaking closely with the police liaison officer at Police Scotland and they are happy with all the safety measures we have got in place.
“There’s going to be physical distancing and as it’s outside, people don’t have to wear face coverings, but we are encouraging that.
“There’s a registration process to ensure we can manage the numbers but also to have the data for test and trace purposes if required.
“There will be promotion of good hand and respiratory hygiene and lots of stewards – the whole thing has been very well prepared and organised.”
There has been considerable online criticism of AUOB for going ahead with the static rally during the pandemic, with many Yes activists worried that holding such an event will lead to criticism of the Yes movement as a whole.
Mackay said: “Unfortunately people just see the word rally and they see that the organiser is All Under One Banner and they assume that it is going to be a huge, big mass gathering – I suppose that is to the movement’s credit because that’s the reputation that we have developed.
“I would just ask people to read the event page [on Facebook] or the pin on Twitter and if they have any questions, please ask us.”
Confirmation of registration for attendance started going out yesterday and will continue today.
Mackay pledged that there would be 10 or 12 speakers from across the “broad platform” of the Yes movement, with music played over a tannoy in an event scheduled to last for an hour to 90 minutes.
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