Following the referendum in January, South Sudan officially becomes an independent nation today. I'm delighted for them, though a little jealous that they've achieved it before us.
Still, it won't be too long before Wales is independent as well. Our direction of travel is clear. It's just a matter of time, but let's work to make it sooner rather than later.
Update
This is a video of the official flag raising ceremony from Al-Jazeera, and some more pictures of the celebrations.
Much of what will appear on this blog will also appear in the Syniadau Forums, but the emphasis on this blog is slightly different. The forums are focused more on the structures and institutions that Wales will need to develop in order to become a successful independent nation, arranged on a subject by subject basis, but the blog will have more of an emphasis on day to day political news and developments.
People are welcome to reply or leave comments either here or on the Syniadau Forums. If anyone wants to initiate a new subject they are very welcome to do so there.
11 comments:
Let's hope we can achieve it without all the wars and the famines, eh?
Surely South Sudan is too small, too poor and too sick to become independent? ;)
I'm amazed they have managed to work out what independence is. Such a complicated concept - it's "difficult to work out what it means in the modern world". Surely they should have gone for "full national status" or "self-government"...., but only as a "long term aspiration", of course.
Efrogwr
Not comparable to the experience of Wales at all sorry. although it does go against Wayne David's opinion that nation states are a declining concept. Not true. The world is seeing more and more states brought into official being these days. South Sudan fought decades of war against Sudan for independence and is a obviously different ethnic group to Sudan in every single way, appearance, language, religion. Wales and England aren't different in the same way. Its another world. I say this without agreeing with Wayne David and the dinosaur Labour views. An independent Wales could be completely justified if people could be convinced to support it.
So, South Sudan can 'afford independence' but Wales and Scotland can't?!
Nobody wants to swap places with South Sudan but it does rather kill the lie that 'independence' is some difficult art which only some nations (big and imperial usually) can manage.
Independence is basically just another form of governance. If South Sudan can do it, then Wales certainly could.
Nice flag.
'So, South Sudan can 'afford independence' but Wales and Scotland can't?!'
Wales could 'afford independence', we just couldn't afford to maintain the same levels of public services and living standards as we currently do because a section of revenue would be taken away. Other revenues would come under our control, and an independent Wales could borrow money, but at present it is not the case that they would be enough to fund expenditure at the current level. This could of course change in the future depending on Wales' economy. Wales' current status or level of wealth/revenue is not fixed or permanent but for most people the clincher for Welsh independence would be that it would have to improve their living standards.
It's not the 'world's newest country' it's the 'world's newest state'.
You can be a country - Wales, Britanny, Scotland, Tibet, but not be a state.
So, another multi-national made-up African state with English as an official language. What's new there?
Aside for the desire not to be run by the Muslim north what's the point of South Sudan?
Will there be any status, media and education in the indigenous languages? If not, then why bother? It's a made up state.
A lot depends on whether you class things like trying to maintain the UK's military, political and cultural influence around the world as "public services", Anon 11:32. Some people might prefer the money being spent on real public services.
And if living standards really are the key to whether a country should be independent or not, then our present position in the UK—in which our wealth relative to the remainder of the UK continues to fall—should be the most powerful "clincher" in favour of independence. If we remain part of an over-centralized UK, we can only expect more of the same. I believe our relative prosperity can only be restored as and when we are prepared to take responsibility for our own economy.
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As for 13:45, who cares whether it's what you call a "made up state" or not? The "point" of South Sudan is that the people who live there want to be independent. Their choice, their right.
Those of an entrenched unionist mindset will find 1000 reasons to explain their assertion that Wales can't afford to be independent, and why the idea of nation state is a declining idea- but many of the same people will find even more reasons to explaining why the further integration of Europe is a disastrous idea, and why Britain would be better out of it.
Cognitive dissonance.
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