A Resurrected Campaign for
Welsh Independence
Of course, as a Cymric Nationalist and Patriot, I will always support a "serious" call for a campaign for Cymric Independence so, despite some reservations, I welcome the latest call for such a campaign by Sion Jobbins in a recent article in the online Daily Wales magazine but, after reading Sion's article and viewing further discussions which have appeared on, both, the Daily Wales Forum and fb, I, myself, feel impelled to throw some queries into the mix and I will start with Sion's opening statement in his article, I quote:
"So when was the last time you went on a march in support of Independence for Wales? Never, because there has never been one. We've been cowards"
I must immediately dispute the above statement as I would have thought that every annual march from the Tafarn Llywelyn to the Cilmeri Cenotaph was a rallying of Patriotism for Cymric Independence as well as the commemorating of the death of Tywysog Llywelyn in 1282. Indeed, movements such as the Patriotic Front, Cofiwn and Embassy Glyndŵr has consistently since the 1960's marched and rallied for Independence in one form or another. Let's not forget Cofiwn's great rally at Cilmeri in 1982 where between 2500 - 3000 Cymry took part to commemmorate the 700th anniversary of the death of Llywelyn prior to participating in a march from Cilmeri to the town centre of Llanfair ym Muallt. And, let's not forget Cofiwn's march on Caernarfon in 1983 in challenge to the notorious 'Festival of Castles' where over 500 Cymry rushed the castle and managed to close it down for the day, and is Siôn's memory span so short that he has already forgotten that Embassy Glyndŵr had organised an Independence March as part of the four day programme of events organised at Machynlleth in 2004 to commemorate and celebrate the most significant date in all of our history that, of course, being the date when our National Sovereignty and Cymric Independence was officially restored in 1404 with the establishment of Senedd Cenedl Glyndŵr and Coronation of our National Hero as Tywysog Cymru in that town.
In regards to further contemporary marches of Independence, I could, of course, go back to the "sixties" and the Patriotic Front rallies organised and held regularly on streets throughout Cymru leading to imprisonments on some occasions; and what about all the marches that had been held by Adfer and Cymdeithas yr Iaith in this period, shouldn't their marches and protests (again causing many to be imprisoned) against English policies forced on the Cymry not be considered? The point is, that the Cymry of Owain Glyndŵr's period who fought, sacrificed all and died for independence were certainly no cowards, and neither were the active Cymric patriots of later periods - right up to the present day. Which ever movement they belonged/belong to and whether their protest march was/is political, cultural or social, the common denominator is that they all agreed/agree that they wanted/want self determination and Independence from English rule. The main problem that any independence campaign has always had in Cymru is that the majority of Cymry have been deliberately deprived of their indigenous history in order to keep them loyal to the trappings of the British Empire and we at Embassy Glyndŵr believe that if a renewed campaign for independence is to succeed, then, it is imperative that the correct strong foundation stones are in place, and the two most importance of these foundation stones has to be our indigenous history (be it past or recent) and symbolisms of our Cymric Sovereignty. Also, It is of the utmost importance for those who were too young to remember or be involved in this past history to be made aware of it, so I make no apologies for providing a number of useful inks at the bottom of this article so that those wishing to be better informed can dip into the wealth of knowledge within them and become reconnected with so much that has taken place as part of a continuous campaign to restore Cymric national consciousness as a means of laying foundation stones that are so necessary if we have any hope at all of winning back our Cymric independence.
There are a minority whom have responded to Sion's article, via the Daily Wales Forum, that are too ready to disregard our greatest of medieval warrior leaders as irrelevant - and as where I would agree that we certainly do need to portray Cymru as a vibrant, forward looking country, we haven't got a snowball's hope in hell of this vibrant, forward looking country being an Independent one that can provide a vibrant life style for ALL of its inhabitants if we cannot display that we have the right to be independent because we once were; and Owain Glyndŵr, whether you like it or not, displays that historical right more than anything. Not only did he and the Cymry of his time fight a long sustained War of Independence - and achieved that Independent for a number of years. He and his Council, established the last true Cymric Parliament and was crowned in that Parliament - re-establishing Cymric Sovereignty through this action. He also composed the last true Cymric Manifesto of Independence, recognised by the king of France and other European leaders, in the form of the Pennal Letter. Any nation that have fought or, still fighting for their independence will tell you that such symbolisms and history is all important when fighting for Independence which is why Embassy Glyndŵr has placed so much energy and resources into replacing Cymric national treasures such as the Glyndŵr Crown and Sword.
Machynlleth is unique as a town in Cymric history as this is the town, above all others, that Glyndŵr chose to house his Cymric Parliament and to be crowned as Tywysog Cymru in, and over the years, Embassy Glyndŵr has worked tirelessly to draw recognition to the fact that Machynlleth, because of its potent medieval history, has the potential of being the 'historic capital of a future Independent Cymru rather than the 'green capital of a bio region Wales' and the second Hay on Wye that it is fast becoming! (See Daily Wales article on Plaid Cymru and the Greens) Embassy Glyndŵr has provided the town and the Cymric nation with the symbols of Nationhood and Sovereignty in the Glyndŵr Crown and Sword. These items are recognised ancient symbols of sovereignty going back to the tales of the Mabinogion and relationship to the land. Embassy Glyndŵr has, since 2004, also declared the 21 Mehefin 'Troad y Rhod' as our 'Dydd y Senedd, (Parliament Day) and Dydd y Goron (Crowning Day) and have paraded the Glyndŵr Crown and Sword annually around the town of Machynlleth prior to placing these items of our Sovereignty on display for the day at the main gates of the Machynlleth Parliament House.
The above activity carried out in Machynlleth by Embassy Glyndŵr on 'Troad y Rhod' (June 21) annually is known as setting down sound foundation stones in preparation for a strong united campaign for Cymric Independence taking place. All our activities are archived and further information can be found on our Sofraniaeth and Cenedl Glyndŵr blogs. For the 'sceptics' and 'suits' who believe that such symbolism is irrelevant to a new Independence campaign, well, the Scots would certainly disagree - and undoubtedly, the Braveheart film in itself certainly gave their independence campaign a boost! I can but advise that such a campaign that does not take the above 'already laid down' foundation stones into consideration would be akin to a headless chicken running around a farm yard and would fizzle out like a damp fuse in no time at all.
Winning over the young and dispossessed of our nation can only be achieved by holding Cymric Independence marches and rallies (A major one in Caerdydd and another in Caernarfon to begin with) and then, consistently, in every town in Cymru with stalls set up in shopping centres and community centres on council estates to argue the case because, if people are going to be won over, they need to see that the new campaign for Independence initiative is different from all other parties operating in Cymru. They need to be informed that we have the right to be independent because of our history and that we are really the only ones that 'really' care enough about our land, resources and ALL of its people to 'really' fight for all that, if an Independent Cymru is achieved, and it can only be achieved if they will all as Cymry stand with us
I would agree that Catalan type carnivals could be incorporated into the larger Independence marches as a means of attracting interest so long as this is balanced with political rallies in the town centres along with information and recruitment stalls.
I myself would not be interested in participating in any campaign that does not educate the nation's people in their social and political history in such a way that they will become to understand that their lives will improve greatly if Independence is won, I would not be interested in campaigning for an Independent Cymru that would only benefit the 'status quo' that is 'the educationally privileged middle class' and the 'suits' of cosmopolitan Caerdydd. Independence must mean equal status and opportunity for all our people. Also, Gareth's points in the Daily Wales Forum regarding the 'public sector in an Independent State is very true and will prove very relevant if and when Cymru becomes an Independent State.
I will again stress that symbolism is all important to any Independence campaign if it is to be strong and survive which brings me to our true national flag for Independence, the Four Lions Rampant Flag of Glyndŵr. How can any "serious" new campaign group purporting to be "seriously" campaigning in earnest for an Independent Cymry stand by whilst the members and supporters of such a group cannot even bring themselves to the point where they can be confident and disciplined enough to campaign in earnest for Cymru and the Cymry to fly the true flag of Independence? How can such a group continue to fly a flag that only came to existence as the official flag of Cymru in 1959 on the say of the British Government. Should we not be doing away with 'every' symbolism that has been foisted on us by the British and actively re-instating our own indigenous symbols of sovereignty if we are seriously confident about an all out campaign on independence?
I will now come to Sion's suggestion regarding the first meeting of this new initiative at the Duke of Clarence Pub in Caerdydd to organise a Pro Scottish Independence Rally in Caerdydd in July. As much as I support the Scottish Independence campaign, shouldn't the new Cymric Independence initiative be organising a Cymric Independence rally? This suggestion by Keith and Sion, and the knee-jerk response in eager support to it in the Daily Wales forum and fb makes me wonder if this is all about certain elements wishing to rush up to Scotland in September to canvass and 'socialise' on a nice little holiday with the Scots? As far as I'm aware, none of those (apart from Geoff Ifans and Dewi Prysor who participated in the Machynlleth Commemoration 0f 2004) which I now see responding in the Forum or on facebook have supported Embassy Glyndŵr in actively laying down the foundation stones for a strong Cymric Independent campaign at Machynlleth Well, I'm sure that the Scots will welcome any support given but I'm also equally sure that they will wander why these Cymric elements are up there campaigning for Scottish Independence when they've done 'bugger all' about their own for centuries! If Scots ask those Cymry going up there how active have they been over the years in campaigning for Cymric independence, how are they going to honestly reply?
Also, I am deducting from the discussions in the Daily Wales Forum - and facebook, that this initiative is largely a Plaid Cymru led one and cannot understand why the initiators have not considered the establishing of a pro-independence 'Ginger Group' within Plaid Cymru? to, asap, get members to forward pro - independence initiative related motions for discussion and voting on at the Plaid Cymru Autumn Conference. I'm assuming that this new Independence Initiative group, through their Plaid Cymru branches, will definitely be doing that anyway, and I would suggest that they and all other Plaid branches forward motions to Conference proposing:
1. That Plaid Cymru should defend our heritage in the landscape by stopping Renewable companies from building next to useless Windfarms on our ancestral land.
2. That Plaid Cymru should lead a campaign to reclaim Cymric Land that has become Crown Land and 1000's of acres of Cymric land that was 'given away' to favourites of the English Crown as rewards for their loyalty in the occupation of Cymru during the medieval period.
3. That Plaid Cymru demands that the Welsh Assembly protects and controls the movement of Cymric water and mineral resources until we have our own Independent Government to do so.
Incidentally, Embassy Glyndŵr has posted messages on our blogs and on facebook in previous years requesting that Plaid members do the above but, did they? NO! Hopefully, the new Independence Initiative and other Plaid members will make the effort this year, we'll see?
To conclude: Hopefully, Sion, Cith and others will welcome this input from Embassy Glyndŵr as a constructive critique contribution to what we hope will become a strong and "serious" Independent Initiative in Cymru. I would end by saying to the 'sceptics' on the Daily Wales Forum who are so ready to disregard our history that the SNP certainly have not discarded theirs and that their Referendum campaigning and date of Referendum is very much founded on their national hero Robert The Bruce and the 700th anniversary of the Battle of Bannockburn. And with that and our greatest national hero and Cymric Sovereignty in mind, I will end by forwarding the following positive proposals to the new Cymric Independence Group:
1. That the Initiative for Cymric Independence fully supports 21 Mehefin/ June 'Dydd Sofraniaeth (Sovereignty Day) and as suggested in the SOFRANIAETH blog (see link below) sets out to support the S.O.S. Sovereignty campaign.
2. That the Initiative for Cymric Independence, along with other organisations and groups, adopts 'Dydd Sofraniaeth' as the chief annual date for the holding of a National Independence Rally and parade in Machynlleth, using Y Plas (and not a pub) as a worthy location for an AGM and Parliament Green at Canolfan Owain Glyndŵr as site for the rally.
3. That the Initiative for Cymric Independence adopts the week from 16 Medi/Sept 'Dydd Glyndŵr' to 24 Medi/ (date of battle of Efyrnwy) as the period annually for carrying out National Independence Campaigning in every community throughout Cymru which can be associated with 'Dydd Glyndŵr celebrations.
Embassy Glyndŵr began the process of re-enstating Cymric Sovereignty through our ceremonies and 'displaying of the crown' parade at Machynlleth ten years ago (with a break last year as we wanted to give the town peace to mourn the tragedy concerning little April Jones) and although we will not be parading the crown through the town this year, we will be making an informal visit on 'Dydd Sofraniaeth' (Saturday 21st) to keep the momentum alive - in the hope that by 21 June next year, the proposed New Independence initiative will have grown strong enough to hold the proposed National Independence Parade and Rally in the town and will, in association with Embassy Glyndŵr and Cefn Caer, corporate the displaying of the Glyndŵr Crown and Sword, the symbols of our Sovereignty in this parade and rally.
Although we will be keeping a low profile in the area this year, we will be raising our extra large Glyndŵr flag - the true flag of Cymric Independence at 1pm on Penrallt hill and would be pleased to hear from anyone who would like to join us. (send me an e-mail on sianifan@sky.com or, alternatively ring 07772321511. It would be a spectacular sight to see a long row of Glyndŵr flags flying alongside each other appearing over the ridge overlooking Machynlleth and a great sign that a new Independence campaign is being born. Whether anyone joins us or not, Embassy Glyndŵr will be there raising the flag as we have done over the years as a symbolic act to express that the struggle for Cymric Independence continues.
Other than that, we would encourage all and their families to visit Machynlleth on 'Dydd Sofraniaeth' and to visit the memorial to Owain Glyndŵr in the grounds of Y Plas, the exhibition in the Canolfan Owain Glyndŵr and most certainly, Cefn Caer, the medieval hall house associated with Owain Glyndŵr, four miles away at Pennal where the Glyndwr Crown is housed. There are great indoor and outdoor exhibitions there and of course, that is where the Arwyr Glyndŵr Memorial Garden for the brave who fought and died during the Owain Glyndŵr war is located.
Also, may I point out that holding political meetings in pubs is a really bad way for this new initiative to get off the ground. Trust me, we've had decades of experience of this where, despite holding the meetings in a private function room in a pub, participants will leave the room to get drinks and its downright disruptive. For the sake of efficiency, the new initiative should start as it means to go on and have a policy in place right from the start that all meetings will be held in a barless venue; a social gathering can easily be held in a bar once the day's work is completed.
The contents of the links below are very relevant to what has been said in the article and we strongly urge all to read them.
Siân Ifan
C.E.O. Embassy Glyndŵr
