INDEPENDENCE MOVEMENT UNITES FOR DEMOCRACY FOR SCOTLAND RALLY

Campaigners who are calling for a referendum on Scottish independence have had a highly successful march and rally in Edinburgh.

On Saturday 30th September around a thousand people marched behind a full pipe band from East Market Street onto Princes Street, up the mound, over George IV Bridge and down the Royal Mile to end up at a rally outside the Scottish Parliament.

The march and rally, for Independence First http://www.independence1st.com/ the Scottish independence referendum campaign was a substantial demonstration and a spokesperson for the campaign said it was "a powerful message to the Scottish parliament that democracy will not be denied."

There was an excellent turnout of members of the public and political activists from all the various groups who support Scottish independence (including the four pro-independence parties which have representatives in the Scottish parliament). Independence First had distributed 10,000 leaflets for the event and have also launched an e-petition through the Scottish Parliament website which has a further month to go.

Speakers included the SNP, SSP, Greens and Solidarity parties plus Bill Wilson, Lloyd Quinan and Campbell Martin MSP as well as the band Scotia and singer Ted Christopher who provided entertainment.

The rally began with an outline of the situation that had led to the union by Dr Tony Parker an academic from the University of Dundee. Parker pointed out that political control had been lost with the 1603 union of crowns as had trade with France.

The English Government eventually effectively threatened Scotland with invasion after cutting off her trade routes and bribed the politicians of the day.

Bill Wilson of the SNP who spoke for Independence First pointed out that these politicians "fled through the back door" from an angry mob and the numerous petitions lodged by the Scottish public against the union.

Wilson said the importance of Independence First was that it was broad enough to include absolutely everyone who supported independence and he also mentioned the e-petition IF are running through the Scottish Parliament (sign at:

epetitions.scottish.parliament.uk/view_petition.asp)

Independence First activist Chris Osborne gave some of the history of Independence First and explained that the movement had started from initial internet discussions around a small group of activists who were deliberately drawn from different political opinions to think up ideas to promote independence. These ideas eventually solidified behind the referendum proposal as being the best route to achieve the maximum possible support for independence and the campaign had grown from there.

Tommy Sheridan MSP of Solidarity said that his vision was of a free socialist republic without nuclear weapons and he fully endorsed Independence First's call for a democratic referendum as the first step towards that aim.

Carolyn Leckie MSP of the Scottish Socialist Party said that her commitment to Independence had been absolute ever since she was a young child and that Scottish independence was the key to unlocking a much fairer society.

Aileen Campbell of the Scottish National Party blasted the Liberal Democrats for ruling out an Independence Referendum "How can they call themselves Democrats?" she asked. "Make no mistake if we win an election we will hold our referendum and will win it for the people of Scotland" she pledged.

Lloyd Quinan announced that the campaign had received supportive messages from other national independence groupings in the Basque Country, Catalonia and Corsica. "There is huge international support behind our cause. Our simple demand for a referendum on independence can be respected by any democrat.

To a resounding cheer he said "I am Scottish not British". He added "Anything the British or Brutish Imperial State does, it doesn't do in my name or the name of the people of Scotland we need our own international voice."

Activists from all parties and groups were impressed by the organisation of the event and the substantial turnout. Douglas Blackie an SNP activist from Aberdeen commented "This was a fantastic day and a fantastic march. I'd say it was bigger than the SNP's Bannockburn marches, it's the best march I've seen for years."

Brian Archibald a Shop Steward from Midlothian commented "This was the broadest and most positive political demonstration I can remember from twenty years campaigning for independence."

Joe Middleton Press Officer of Independence First said the march "was a powerful message to the Scottish parliament that democracy will not be denied for the people of Scotland." and he also said it proved the worth of having a campaign purely about support for a democratic referendum on independence.

"The great turnout here today proves that our campaign has genuine political weight. The next step will be to call for a million people to use their votes for independence in the first and second votes for the Scottish Parliament. One million people is not a lot of voters in a country of 45 million and it's well within the grasp of the independence movement if we work together."