Ray Burnett, who lives in Benbecula, wrote the following article for Bella Caledonia on the continuing significance of the ‘Land Question’ in Scotland. ‘Divide and rule’. It’s the oldest game in town, so why on earth do we fall for it? Set up the polarities: Highlander/Lowlander, Gaidheal/Gall, local/incomer, crofter/environmentalist and let rancour commence. Scotland fractures,…
Proposed Amendments To The RCN’s ‘What We Stand For’
The Republican Communist Network (Scotland) can be considered a ‘work on progress’. The principles upon which we stand can be summed up in our ‘What We Stand For’. However, these are not fixed but are changed through new knowledge gained in the struggles we are engaged in. The last change was made in May 2012…
Emancipation & Liberation Special Bulletin – The Centenary of the World War I Imperialist Slaughter
WORLD WAR I – THE CATASTROPHIC RESULT OF IMPERIALIST RIVALRIES On June 28, 1914, Gavrilo Princip, A Serbian nationalist, assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian empire. This incident sparked World War I, that soon engulfed much of the world and led to the deaths of millions of soldiers, and…
Emancipation & Liberation – Radical Independence Campaign Special Bulletin, August, 2014
Below can be found the two articles from the third of the RCN’s Radical Independence Campaign Special bulletins. BETWEEN NOW AND SEPTEMBER RIC activists across Scotland are doing an amazing job leafleting, canvassing and organising meetings and events to help win a Yes vote. Many of us are aware, though, that irrespective of whether the…
The Demise Of Labourism And The Passing Of Tony Benn
Eric Chester (RCN) goes beyond the glowing tributes made to Tony Benn after he died earlier this year and takes a critical look his politics. Tony Benn was one of the most popular and respected figures on the Left in Scotland and throughout the UK. His recent death has been followed by many notices that…
Making Plans For Nigel
Allan Armstrong (RCN) examines the situation Socialists face across these islands in the light of the recent European election and the ongoing Scottish independence referendum campaign. A SOCIALIST REPUBLICAN ANALYSIS OF THE STATE OF THE UK AND ‘NEW UNIONISM’ IN THE LIGHT OF THE RISE OF UKIP AND THE FORTHCOMING SCOTTISH INDEPENDENCE REFERENDUM CONTENTS Introduction…
Racism In Northern Ireland Breaking The Bounds of Liberal Outrage
Below E&L has posted a leaflet distributed by Socialist Democracy (Ireland) at an anti-racist rally in Belfast on 7th June. This was produced in response to Northern Ireland First Minster, Peter Robinson of the DUP and the initial support heave to a rabid rant directed against Muslims by a Protestant fundamentalist preacher, James McConnell. Racism:…
Labour And Socialist Left Unionism In The Scottish Independence Debate
Allan Armstrong (RCN) prepared a talk for the Conference of Socialist Economists Day School held in the Out of the Blue Centre in Edinburgh on June 21st. The article below incorporates some of the discussion points that were raised. It provides a socialist republican analysis of the British Left and the case for an ‘internationalism…
2 New Pieces On Ukraine
The RCN co-sponsored a tour by Zakhar Popyvych of the Left Opposition in Kyiv to Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow from May 16th-18th (see Ukraine – Caught between East and West). Patricia Kirk (RCN) videoed Zakhar’s talk in Glasgow, whilst John Lanigan (RCN) took a number of photographs. Two of these photographs and the video link…
Just Say Yes? – A Review Of ‘Yes – The radical case for Independence’ by James Foley & Pete Ramand
Murdo Ritche (RCN) reviews Yes- The Radical Case for Scottish Independence by James Foley & Pete Ramand (Pluto Press, 2014). This was first posted on Murdo’s blog (http://murdoritchie.blog.co.uk) and has been slightly changed. JUST SAY YES? The cover and the title of this book summarize the contradictory tensions that flow all through the text. The word…