| An interview with the Cornish National Liberation Army |
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Page 1 of 2 Here follows a statement, exclusively revealed to Cornish World during an interview, from the Cornwall National Liberation Army. Below is the CNLA piece in full: Cornwall is used to being in the news; barely a day goes by without a story on ‘cool Kernow’ appearing in the national press. However, the past few weeks have seen a media frenzy descend on Cornwall not seen since the devastating Boscastle floods in 2004. The event was of equally devastating proportions in the view of the media; a group called the Cornish National Liberation Army had come into existence. ‘Wacky Cornish extremists’ and ‘Cornish nasties’ mused The Sun, ‘extreme’ labelled The Sunday Telegraph, ‘sinister’ bleated the Western Morning News while the more subdued Guardian declared that ‘Cornish militants rise again’. Indeed, the natives appear to be restless. Speculation is rife over whether such a clandestine, paramilitary group such as the CNLA actually exists; an editorial in one newspaper suggested that the group was little more than one person operating from a bedroom, playing a dangerous hoax game via use of the internet. However the police and security forces are, quite understandably, taking no chances and have created a special task group to specifically investigate any threats posed by the Cornish National Liberation Army. So far no definite leads or information have brought the police closer to the CNLA. A man arrested in Padstow, allegedly in connection with the CNLA, has denied all association with the group – a claim backed up by the CNLA itself. The matter of the CNLA was also brought up in the House of Commons by Cornish MP Julia Goldsworthy during a debate on the Sustainable Communities Bill. Despite universal condemnation from Cornish political parties including Mebyon Kernow, Cornish groups like the Cornish Stannary Parliament, Cornish MPs and business leaders, there appears to be a growing groundswell of support for the CNLA - although it must be said that the support is more for the political and social observations of the group rather than endorsing the CNLA policy of direct action. A list of comments in reaction to the news that Cornwall now had its own militant wing on the WMN website showed as many people in favour of the CNLA statements as those who condemned the group. An internet poll on the Cornish news site www.cornwall24.co.uk showed that 78 per cent of people saw the CNLA as ‘freedom fighters for a better Kernow’ rather than ‘a few disaffected extremists’ (11 per cent) while another 11 per cent believed the CNLA to be ‘an English plot to halt growing Cornish awareness’. If the CNLA exists, and the signs are that it does, then the question that needs to be asked is why? A militant wing operating in a Celtic region is not a new or uncommon occurrence; the Celtic nations of Scotland, Ireland, Brittany and Wales have all seen direct action groups operating within their borders and ‘fighting’ for the cause of their people. The fact that this now exists in Cornwall should not raise any eyebrows; there have been other Cornish militant wings in recent years under the name of An Gof and the Cornish Liberation Army. Before that still there have been numerous widespread Cornish revolts against her larger, more prosperous, neighbour. The Cornish Rebellion of 1497 and the Prayer Book Revolt of 1549 are but two incidents immortalized by Cornish all over the world as examples of when the brave Cornish said ‘enough is enough’ and took up arms to settle their grievances. There have been countless other occasions when Cornish people have organised themselves and protested against injustice; a recent demonstration against hospital closures in Cornwall brought 30,000 people out onto the streets. In today’s climate where global terrorism is a constant threat and such threats are not taken lightly, it must take a great deal of conviction and courage to form, or be a member of, such a group. The UK anti-terrorism laws - aimed at suppressing militant groups and their actions - are among the most stringent in the world. Membership of such a group carries a huge risk and imprisonment is a certainty. So why has the CNLA formed now and is anyone in the corridors of power in Cornwall looking at the reasons why? High house prices and low wages have led to a lack of affordability of property that has caused resentment. There are no cheaper places to move to in Cornwall; the region is virtually an island. If you want somewhere to live the only option is to leave. Yet this problem is not recent nor are low wages. Cornish miners, farmers and fishermen all suffered low incomes (although all had homes). Today’s low wage earners typically labour in the tourist industry where the national minimum wage (£5.35 an hour) is standard; the hours are unsociable with the work, in the main, being part-time and seasonal. Perhaps this is the real legacy of heavy investment in tourism; an underclass with little prospect or hope. How this underclass must feel about the amount of wealth being touted around them can only be speculated but there does seem to be a conflict over the ‘brand’ of Cornwall. Several Cornish agencies have been quickly forging ahead with the brand of Cornwall, a semi-corporate identity of what the visitor, and inhabitant, should expect of Cornwall. These exercises in branding have not been without controversy. Cornish people were seldom consulted in these exercises and the end result was inhabitants being presented with an image of Cornwall that looked very little like the Cornwall they were accustomed to. In the same way that anti-globalisation campaigners have reacted against what they see as a homogenous branding of their lifestyles, some Cornish have felt that their homeland was being packaged in a way for fresh, easy consumption. Yet for those who live here, the brand of Cornwall seems destined for the bargain bucket. Cornish residents are also being sold another brand (and seemingly against their will), a new brand of local government. Cornwall’s Liberal Democrat councillors have forged ahead with plans to create a unitary authority for the region, abolishing the six district councils. This, in essence, means that where there was once one democratically-elected member for every 3,000 residents, there will now be one councillor for every 7,000 people. A premise for a single governing body for Cornwall was that the new Cornwall Council would have greater powers, being granted more responsibilities from England. This could have been an extremely welcome move. Money from Europe for Cornwall (Objective One money for Cornwall was estimated to be around £800 million) was controlled by an unelected English body called the South West Regional Development Agency based in Exeter. Cornwall had to apply to England for money it was already entitled to. The next round of funding, Convergence Funding, (awarded because Cornwall is, despite after receiving all the initial funding, still one of the poorest regions in Europe) is expected to be more. This time, however, Cornwall will not be able to apply for that money; Cornwall will be told how to spend the money before it is released. In reality, the One Cornwall Council ambition is based on a false promise. Westminster has ruled out any extra powers for Cornwall, the quangos will stay in place and Cornish money will never be managed by Cornwall. If anything, powers could be taken from a single Cornish body as it struggles to cope with the extra workload inherited from the district councils. A lack of democracy, it has been said, often leads to undemocratic actions and perhaps this is another cornerstone in the formation of the CNLA. Whatever the motives, the writing is on the wall. The seeds of discontent have been sown and it is the authorities that govern, manage and promote Cornwall who will determine what kind of organism these seeds will develop into. The question now is what will it take until these authorities are prepared to listen? |
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