WHILE I tend to agree with the concept that the goals and aspirations of SNP and Alba may ultimately be the same, Ash Regan’s suggestion that only the strategies are different is somewhat disingenuous.
We have to bear in mind that we exist in a constitutional and legal structure and that the party of administration in particular has to be seen to be complying with the law, otherwise it will be proscribed. So that said, what actually are the minutiae of differences of available and practical strategies to justify a hissy fit, throwing toys out of the pram, that haven’t been already thought of considered and analysed up to now? What magic wand do those criticising the SNP have to wave?
READ MORE: South Ayrshire councillor defects to Alba after Ash Regan move
Internal divisions and navel-gazing across our movement merely tell the yet-to-be-convinced that there are problems and do nothing to encourage them to change their minds. We all need to be working together for that shared goal, not fighting amongst ourselves.
We should also remember Amendment B of the independence strategy passed at SNP conference a few weeks ago, in which the SNP said it would work with other independence groups. That also expects those groups to work with the SNP, instead of sniping and arguing from the sidelines.
Nick Cole
Meigle, Perthshire
WHY is anyone surprised that our great colonial masters and would-be masters at Westminster refuse to condemn the breaking of international law by Israel?
Have they not themselves on more than one occasion broken it? Was the indiscriminate bombing of thousands of Iraqi civilians in what can only be termed an illegal war not a war crime and breach of international law? And have they not been blocking the right of Scots in international law to decide their own future?
READ MORE: Humza Yousaf: I don't need you in SNP if you don’t want to advance Yes
Recently, they allowed the Supreme Court, operating under English law, to decide against that international right, based on the potential effect on the sovereignty of Westminster, which that same court had previously decreed had no validity in Scotland, and therefore should have had no relevance to the subject of the case.
Is it not past time that someone should be researching just how often and in which respects the Treaty of Union, recognised in international law, has been broken by Westminster? If such breaches have happened, as we know they have, does that not invalidate the Treaty and thereby free us automatically from the Union?
Are they afraid we might notice the pots calling the kettles black? Sorry, but we already have, a long time ago.
P Davidson
Falkirk
WHEN neither the UK Tory nor Labour leadership can advocate an immediate ceasefire in the Israel-Palestine war, the conciliatory words of First Minister Humza Yousaf are a welcome revelation.
READ MORE: Tory MP sacked from Government role after Gaza ceasefire call
Speaking in a synagogue amid his own family anguish, he said: “I was brought up in this community with Jewish neighbours. We shared culture, traditions and even food ... I want you to know that this First Minister, who is proudly Muslim, shares the pain of our Jewish communities. Your heartbreak is my heartbreak. Your loss is my loss. Your tears are my tears”.
The sadness is that in this ancient home of three great religions, the festering tragedy between these Arab peoples is only compounded by the far-right and near-criminal activities of the Prime Minister of Israel.
Grant Frazer
Newtonmore
I PREFACE my comments by categorically condemning the actions of Hamas in murdering innocent men, women and children in Israel.
Consider the situation of a Palestinian young person in Gaza that has seen many family members and friends killed by the bombardment of Gaza by the Israeli Defence Forces.
That young person is likely grow up hating the Jewish state of Israel and its inhabitants and the having the desire to seek revenge for their families and friends.
READ MORE: Suella Braverman condemns pro-Palestine 'hate marches'
When you realise that half of the 2.3 million inhabitants of Gaza are children, it doesn’t take a genius to see that it is possible that future generations could be more extreme than Hamas and have significantly larger numbers willing to be martyrs. How do Israeli actions – killing thousands of innocent men, women and children – help the process of eventual peace?
How can the UK Government and opposition Labour Party support the collective punishment of 2.3 million civilians and the numerous war crimes being committed by the state of Israel?
David Howie
Dunblane
WHEN a power cannot even bring itself to vote for a pause in the mass slaughter of women and children, its humanity has left the building. When mass murder of the innocent is committed under whatever guise – be it the lust for more power, revenge, greed or religion – the results are usually the same. Those responsible walk away unscathed, richer and with the means to rewrite history and justify their crimes by pointing the finger of blame elsewhere, but definitely not at their failure to share or properly communicate in a manner even a troupe of chimps would recognise.
READ MORE: Scottish Government urges UK to help rehome Gaza refugees
The use of any religion by those in power to control a frightened, poor or just completely disenfranchised population and persuade them to carry out atrocities is as old as civilisation. It doesn’t matter the method – by hands-on mass murder or by bombing folk “back to the stone age” – the outcome is the same: we sit back and wait for the next despot to come trotting over the horizon. Thank god I’m an atheist.
Murray Forbes
via email
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