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Kernow Matters To Us – No to Devonwall Campaign updates

Early Day Motion in House of Commons and the aftermath!

A big thank you to Cornwall Councillor Dick Cole and his team for liaising closely with Plaid Cymru and achieving the tabling of an Early Day Motion (EDM) in the Westminster House of Commons.

You can read about it here:

As the breathtaking scenery of Cape Breton Island takes on a rich mantle of vibrant colour during its most spectacular season, the twentieth anniversary Celtic Colours Festival will also be attracting many visitors and musicians - including two groups from the Isle of Man.

Local favourites Mec Lir and Barrule made a memorable impact at the annual event on previous occasions, and have been invited back especially for the anniversary celebration.

News from Kernow Matters To Us:

Plaid Cymru's Jonathan Edwards MP has tabled an Early Day Motion in the House of Commons which sets out opposition to the creation of a cross-Tamar parliamentary constituency.

Kernow Matters To You (KMTU) has sent a fact-filled dossier to the leader of every political party represented in the House of Commons as well as to many members of the House of Lords, to the Duchy of Cornwall and to Prince Charles himself as well as the the Council of Europe and the United Nations.

The EDM, numbered 487, reads as follows:

News from the Celtic League:

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has responded to our further query about the fate of the Chagos Islanders who were forcibly removed from their homeland sixty years ago so that the United Kingdom could allow the United States to construct a military base there to dominate the Indian Ocean, East Africa and the Middle East.

In 2000 the Celtic League joined a wave of protest internationally about the treatment of the Chagossians and at our AGM held that year in Mann (Isle of Man) the following resolution was adopted:

“This AGM:

Alistair Urquhart was a former prisoner-of-war. He was serving in Singapore with the Gordon Highlanders' Second Battalion during the Second World War when the island was captured by Japanese forces. He was among thousands taken prisoner and ended up being forced to build the notorious Burma-Siam railway. He was one of those put to work under atrocious conditions in what became known as "Hellfire Pass", where men had to cut through solid rock using hand tools and dynamite. It is estimated that some 13,000 Allied PoWs died on the railway. 

News from Kernow Matters To Us:

In a supreme and brave act of defiance, our Gorsedh Kernow has announced that the north Cornwall town of Launceston (Lansteventon in our Cornish language) would host the 2017 Gorsedh Kernow Esedhvos Festival of Cornish Culture and Bardic ceremony.

From Galway Bay FM News and the Connacht Tribune:

Galway’s Oireachtas members are being urged to lobby for more investment in the Irish language and Gaeltacht areas. Conradh na Gaelige is calling on TDs (members of the Lower House of the Irish Parliament) and Senators to reverse what it describes as detrimental cuts to the Irish language sector.

Scotland's First Minister First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is attending the Arctic Circle Assembly 2016 in Iceland's capital Reykjavik. Delegates from 50 countries are attending the conference to discuss the development and protection of the Arctic region.The first minister is addressing the Assembly on the topic of climate change. Whilst there she has also announced an agreement between tourist organisations in Scotland and Iceland.

News from Kernow Matters To Us:

Kernow

7th October, 2016

A why agas oll wheg,

Notice of demonstration against Devonwall and other Westminster impositions!

Anti - Devonwall Peaceful Protest 11am to 4pm Sunday 30th October, 2016 Polson Bridge, Launceston, Cornwall

The lady Bards of Gorsedh Kernow organising this protest have given us the go ahead! The protest is on!

On Monday 10th October, 2016 one of them is to be interviewed by the BBC up in Plymouth about the protest and why we are all so angry about 'Devonwall'!

Produced by the "The New World Celts”, an organization dedicated to “Promoting Celtic History and Celtic Culture in the New Worlds” in association with Celtic Heritage Productions, the Celtober Festival will be held in Asheville, North Carolina on Thursday October, 20.

Headlining the Festival are two bands who themselves serve as Ambassadors of Celtic Culture.