WHAT LIBERATION IS ALL ABOUT

from Sara Salyers

I was reminded that Alf Baird began explaining Scotland’s colonial status more than a decade ago. He was almost completely ignored and so, therefore, were the implications for Scotland’s struggle for self-determination – disastrously as we can now see: Independence is *either* a matter of negotiation between two parties *or* it is a struggle for decolonisation. It cannot be both. 

In the latter, the coloniser will offer the colonised no legitimate exit, indeed, will block every possible route by every means available to it. If, therefore, Scotland is a colony rather than a partner, then every effort expended by politicians to ‘force’ the colonising state to negotiate, to compromise, to recognise a democratic mandate, and every popular strategy – every demonstration, march or petition to that end, is futile. It becomes an exercise in exhausting the time, energy, resources, hope, motivation and very life of an independence movement. (And here we are today, our movement exhausted, divided and demoralised, testimony to the inevitable outcome of a nation trying to bargain, demand or petition its way out of a colonial prison.) 

When some of us took Alf’s analysis on board and responded by launching a Liberation Movement we were also, largely, ignored. The proposition underpinning Liberation Scotland, however, that Scotland is not a partner in a union but a colony, now met with derision, dismissal, even fury … from our *own* political establishment. (Colonised minds reject the evidence of their own subjugation, as we know.) These days, which is to say just a year later, recognition of Scotland’s colonial position is widespread and still spreading wider. And the lofty, sometimes savage rejection of our ‘wiser and betters’ in the political arena is noticeably muted. A case, I suspect, not of any true course correction but of the potential vote-loss factor in offending a significant number of voters by continuing to say publicly what is thought in private.

But why do they continue to hold to a view so easily confirmed or contradicted by scrutiny of the arguments and evidence? (Especially since the implications for any route to independence are so crucial.) Alf explains it best but my own summary is this: colonised establishments unconsciously and, intrinsically, measure their own validity and authority by the standards of the coloniser. There is, therefore, an unconscious awareness that if the political system is one of colonisation then they have been part of a colonial administration. And if our ‘democracy’ is fatally compromised by an ongoing colonisation, so are they. 

Finally, the colonised political mind imagines independence as a freer and more extensive version of the present, colonial system. In other words, the vision of independence means a continuation of the existing power structure but one no longer limited and controlled by the larger, British state. The power of the present political establishment is made synonymous Scotland’s power. Their freedom to do ‘what is best for Scotland’, as they see it, means the freedom of Scotland and the Scots to have what is best for them. It would never occur to colonised minds that their own power is *not* synonymous with Scotland’s, that their own independence from Westminster is not synonymous with the independence of the nation. 

It seems to me, therefore, that our own political establishment is not merely a challenge to independence because it will insist, is insisting, on trying to negotiate an escape from a kidnapper, (and to recruit the people of Scotland in that endeavour), but because it is waiting in the wings to colonise Scotland all over again. In a Scotland internally colonised by its own establishment, we will have an English style constitution, Special Economic Zones, the Hate Crime Act, a Gender Recognition Act, jury-less trials, government corruption, unaccountable ministers, quangos and committees, corporate decision making, all without any mechanism which will allow us to object, let alone mount a challenge. We will be offered, again, the pretence that the choice of a different flavour of autocrat every five years means that the people are sovereign, at least for 24 hours.

This is why the Liberation route matters so much. We already have a radical, if undeveloped, constitution that was supposed to be honoured after the Union. Of course, there was never any intention on the part of the English state to honour the treaty by anything but the merest occasional nod. But that constitution sets the people of Scotland above their government and their interests and welfare at the heart of public policy, which means above the profits of the corporations. It has to underpin the route to to Liberation for Scotland or there will be no liberation at all. 

I fear, however, that we had better be prepared for our own political establishment to fight us for internal, independence and power just as ferociously as the British English state will fight to keep its colony and cash cow of Scotland.

MY COMMENTS

The level of interference Liberation faces has been present since it was created. We have been constantly battling to get round these problems. Recently we trialled accessing the Liberation site from several countries abroad. Access was achieved without any problems whether it was from the USA or India but the minute we tried to access the same site from Scotland difficulties arose. Many “mirror” sites have been created.

This is why we have asked all existing members to access the site and use the new format to secure their password and obtain their own membership card and unique voting registration number.

We also recommend using a VPN and not using Safari.

Sara is right to warn about some politicians being nervous about Liberation. It has nothing to do with us potentially being electoral competitors, they know that neither Liberation or Salvo will ever contest elections, but it is worry over our arguing for direct democracy and Swiss style government which ensures the people remain sovereign all the time, not just for the few minutes it takes to complete a ballot paper once every few years.

Politicians want to be in control at all times, they just have a poor record in the last decade of doing anything with that control. To make progress on Independence control must stay in the hands of the sovereign people of Scotland, that is the best way forward.

I am, as always

YOURS FOR SCOTLAND.

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