INVESTITURE 1969 - 50 YEARS ON 2019 CAERNARFON 1st JULY
DAFYDD IWAN SURRENDERS TO THE ENGLISH CROWN.
As a long term committed Cymric patriot,
activist and nationalist, it was most encouraging to see such a large crowd
marching for Cymric Independence in Caernarfon last Saturday and the organizers
of the march are to be commended for organizing and stewarding such a large
event so successfully so, well done AUOB/YES CYMRU.
However, what was very sad and disturbing
as far as I'm concerned was to see one of the speakers, Dafydd Iwan, stating
his love for Caernarfon castle - our Welsh Bastille. His reasoning was that he
loved the castle because it symbolized that "Edward 1's project" had failed!
Really? As far as I'm aware, we, as a nation have been under occupation for
over 700yrs! Edward 1 and his forces destroyed the Royal dynasty of Gwynedd,
murdered both Princes Llywelyn and Dafydd AP Gruffydd, imprisoned their wives
and children and left them to rot in English dungeons or nunneries, and stole
the Cymric royal treasures including the sacred Croes Naid.
He then used the sweat and blood of
Cymric prisoners of war and serfs as slaves to build Caernarfon castle as a
symbol of conquest along with a walled town which he swiftly filled with
English settlers.
Since then and over the centuries, other
brave patriot princes such as Madog ap Llywelyn and Owain
Glyndŵr have risen in challenge to that castle and English rule in Cymru and many
brave patriots have perished for their efforts, If it were not for the
sacrifices of brave warrior patriots of the past, Cymru and Cymric
speakers would not have survived to this day.
That castle is dripping in
Cymric blood and Mr Iwan knows this as well as I do but now has the audacity to
openly declare that he loves it!
Yes, Mr Iwan "we are still
here" but as a colony of England,
and as for the castle now being ours, really! then, why do we, "the
owners", are expected to pay an exorbitant entrance fee to go
into it and why is there an exhibition of the 'English Princes of Wales' within
rather than an exhibition of the Princes of the Royal House of Gwynedd along
with the truth as to what happened to them and their families?
Maybe Mr Iwan can tell us why the 1969
Investiture throne is kept in the castle along with the Investiture slate dais
which has pride of place on the castle green? Would it have anything to do with
an imminent 3rd Investiture in the castle I wonder? and when the proposed Investiture
is announced, will Mr Iwan then be delivering speeches stating that we must not
protest.
I ask the above question as It had come as
a shock to myself and many others when Mr Iwan, a patriot I had always had
great respect for, accepted an invitation to visit Charles Windsor
at his holiday home in Sir Caerfyrddin, and I, amongst others
pondered over why the invitation was extended. Mr Iwan may be well known in
Cymru but, is he that important that he gets an invitation to visit the Heir to
the English throne for a pow wow - and why now? The English State would
only extend such an invitation if they wanted something out of it, did they
want Mr Iwan's assistance in ensuring that there were no re-occurrences of the
1969 protests when the next investiture takes place? Mr Iwan has had a number
of platforms on recent TV programmes where he has already stated that he will
not protest at the next Investiture - which is fair enough, he faced
hostility from royalists during the last one, is now elderly and, no doubt,
just wants a quiet life in his well feathered nest in Caeathro but,
seeing as he has already tried to hoodwink us all into accepting and embracing
that 'symbol of conquest' in Caernarfon, betraying thousands of our
patriot dead in doing so, I do hope now that he is not
going to try and hoodwink us into accepting another Investiture of yet another
English Prince as "Prince of Wales" with no protest. If he does, my
advice to all now embracing the dream of Cymric Independence and who are actively
campaigning hard to achieve it is, please do not be
hoodwinked! The "Prince of Wales" role is the strongest
tool that the English State have to keep us forged to the British State, so
they have to keep it going, and the moment the next Investiture
takes place, the dream of Cymric Independence is well and truly over.
Siân Ifan
