Breizh United - promoting Breton unity

After a previous post on An Omsav / The Cornish Republican blog about the very minor Breton far-right here is something that is far more positive: http://thecornishrepublican.blogspot.fr/2013/04/breizh-united-promoting-breton-unity.html

Before the French presidential elections so much was promised to Brittany. Radical decentralisation to the regions and the ratification of the charter for minority languages were clearly stated as objectives by the to-be-victorious Socialist candidate. However, following 'advice' from an obscure constitutional committee, the president has decided not to ratify the charter and his radical decentralisation has turned to farce.

Leaving aside the small circle of loons from the far-right, Brittany has many other organisations campaigning for its democratic, cultural and social rights.

In an effort to address the governments broken promises, by mobilising Breton civic society, the Galv Pondi (facebook) - the Call from Pontivy in Breton - has been issued. Expressly excluding the far-right, Galv Pondi is open to all individuals and organisations to sign up to and support. So far the Union Démocratique Bretonne, Parti Breton, Breizhistance, Mouvement Bretagne et progrès, Europe Ecologie les Verts, Bretagne Réunie, Ai'ta, 44=Breizh and Kevre Breizh have signed. What are the Celtic League, Celtic Congress and a whole list of others waiting for? Please visit the website of Galv Pondi, sign the manifesto, leave messages of support and then share with your friends.

The UDB has also created a petition on Avaaz.org to support the campaign. They write: Accordingly, the undersigned people urge the President François Hollande : - To ratify the European Charter for Minority Languages, as promised by the President of the French Republic, François Hollande, his campaign pledge No. 56. - To make, without delay, the necessary arrangements for the reunification of Brittany. What is possible in Alsace should also be so in Brittany - To enable and support the creation in Brittany of a bilingual public television station following the example of Stella Via Corsica, transmitting to the five Breton departments. - To give Brittany, in the context of the future decentralization law, a special status that - inspired by those of Scotland, Wales and Catalonia. If special statuses are available for major cities of Paris, Lyon and Marseille why not for Brittany? The signatories want to bring these claims to the State so that our basic democratic rights are finally met. For more information follow the link beside : www.breizh-united.net

The above Breizh United / Galv Pondi is a continued effort at dialogue hoping to apply pressure on the government in Paris and politicians in Brittany. The campaign Yes Breizh (facebook) on the other hand is explicitly aimed at independence. Wishing to capitalise on developments in Scotland and Catalonia, Yes Breizh is a platform designed to promote public awareness and debate. They write: "Yes Breizh is an educational process that aims to unchain speech and thought on the issue of an independent Brittany. Because there are always several alternatives in the destiny of nations, it is urgent to keep the door open to other visions of the future for Brittany". Not a bad idea for Cornwall perhaps. Again you can help by signing their petition and circulating their website.

Both the former manage to avoid contamination by the far-right by, in the case of Galv Pondi, simply banning them from taking part or, as does Yes Breizh, only allowing people in their individual capacity to sign the petition. Unfortunately Kelc’h An Dael, (facebook) an association to promote the establishment of a Breton parliament - in itself a great idea - has chosen neither option. KAD clearly display the support they receive from the far-right nationalist party Adsav. The result being that the vast majority of other Breton groups want nothing to do with them going as far as to exclude members of their organisations that have joined KAD.

Leaving aside the ethical arguments of giving any publicity to the far-right just imagine Mebyon Kernow openly standing beside a Cornish equivalent of the National Front or BNP and I think you'll understand the simple tactical error. Have various manifestations of the far-right brought Catalonia and Scotland to the brink of independence? Have the centre-left in Scotland or centre-right in Catalonia achieved so much by associating with racists, islamophobes, homophobes, eurosceptics and conspiracy theorists? A parliament for Brittany is such an important idea why tie a lead weight to its neck by association with fascists?

All the relevent URL links can be found here: http://thecornishrepublican.blogspot.fr/2013/04/breizh-united-promoting-breton-unity.html

The Avaaz petition can be found here: http://www.avaaz.org/en/petition/Four_claims_for_change_and_more_democracy/