IF there is one topic on which we as Scots should be united, it is the conservation of a place as sacred and important to our history and sense of being as Culloden battlefield.
That there is even a proposal to build on this ground is offensive, but having visited the “information centre” on the field run by the National Trust, it is not surprising.
On a recent visit I was left with a sense of outrage at how this organisation has twisted history and denied the genocide that followed. The tour guide’s claim that only a few people were killed in the surrounding areas and that the wounded were merely denied medical aid was vile. No mention of the rape and murder that followed the battle, no mention of the Dragon being raised or the wounded being flung into the human fire pits.
Certainly no mention of the Highland Clearances, or that for a century following Scottish soldiers would return from serving the Union to find their families ethnically cleansed from their homelands.
This building proposal is nothing short of a plot by a fanatical Unionist council to destroy and deny Scotland’s history. It must be fought at every cost, and the near silence of the Scottish Government is worrying in the extreme. If Salmond can give Donald Trump the heave-ho over windmills, why has Nicola Sturgeon not stepped in here?
As a lifelong independence supporter and paid-up member if the SNP for decades, this is the first time I have doubted our leaders' veracity. I implore our Scottish Parliament to step in and stop this hideous insult against our nation before yet more of our history is obliterated.
Rory Bulloch
Glasgow
MY heart leapt for joy at the discussion in yesterday’s pages 26-27 (Letters, April 6). Firstly, What a joy it will be to have all the power to develop our own social and economic systems. What satisfaction our leaders will have making Scotland a country people want to live in.
One example is Scottish education – this has benefited other countries around the world as highly qualified people have used the Scottish system and moved to improve their limited choices. This may take generations to benefit all of Scotland’s people.
Secondly, I feel the Scottish Government is like a boxer who has had to learn how to kick-box because both hands have been tied behind their back. Naturally attracting mockery because its starting position is on the bones of its arse.
People must realise that currently our votes have one-tenth the power of Westminster votes. However, when the Scottish Government becomes Scotland’s only government then our votes will have full power to change what we don’t like. What’s not to like? Let’s get together to free the boxer’s arms and gain all the powers we need for the people of Scotland.
Jonathan Arnot
Tarbert
JAMIE Noble (Website comments, April 5) expects “London to start sucking the life out of the finance sector up here”.
I fear this has already started. The RBS Six Nations quietly became the NatWest Six Nations. In the ring-fencing restructuring of the Royal Bank of Scotland Group the casino bank is now NatWest Markets Plc registered in London, and the retail banks, including RBS itself, are now subsidiaries of NatWest Holdings plc, also registered in London.
How long will it be before the group is renamed NatWest Group plc and re-registered in London, leaving 36 St Andrew Square to become yet another posh pub?
Jim Clark
Scone
IN response to my letter of April 3, WJ Graham (Letters, April 5) writes: “Actually, religion and politics are the same thing.” He then lists a number of wars and conflicts, suggesting they were politically motivated. Eh, didn’t you just state that religion and politics are the same thing?
He then defends Jesus as a critic of religious leaders of that time, saying: “Jesus did not create religion, people did”. The Bible is a work of fiction akin to Lord Of The Rings, The Chronicles Of Narnia, and Harry Potter. It is full of stories of characters who said God told them to go to war.
Anne Smart
Milton Of Campsie
MY mother went to Glasgow University when she was just 16 years old in 1929. When I was a wee boy she often spoke to me, in glowing terms, about Professor Bowman, who lectured in moral philosophy. She would repeat things he had said, and her experience of his work left her with indelible and powerful memories. The name of Professor Bowman also left images in my own young mind of someone who excelled and who had an elevated grasp of many of the secrets of this life.
Reading Martin Hannan’s article (Letters tell a poignant Scottish wartime story, April 6) brought all these memories back and filled in so many gaps about the life of a quite exceptional Scotsman.
Alasdair Forbes
Farr
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel