Silence is not an Option - Agreed!

Silence is not an option. I have been reading Adam Price's blog in which he makes the case for proclaiming the word "independence" vociferously, and being clear and honest about Plaid's long-held aim for full self-government for the nation of Cymru.

Let Wales tell the world, as Scotland has done through the ballot box, that independence is the aim and goal of all patriotic Welshmen, whether they be born in Wales or not, and whether they are Welsh by allegiance, by which term I mean those who have settled in Wales from other lands but who espouse the cause. The cause is noble and just, as anyone can understand who has taken the trouble to investigate the background and read the authentic history of the Welsh people, and the struggles which litter the centuries from the early 15th Century and before, down to the present day.

This nationalist fervour is not, as a certain prelate has warned, introverted, narrow or xenophobic. It is a different kind of dragon, one that is outgoing, open to the outside world, forward-thinking, progressive, inclusive and empathetic. It seeks not to separate or divide but to join peoples together in a common purpose, and to create a new society based on respect, equality and justice.

It seeks to devise its own solutions, create its own laws without having to go cap in hand to Westminster to win permission for them to be ratified. The effect of LCOs is to delay and frustrate the law-making process in Wales, so that it has taken one whole year for a law enacted by the Assembly to come into being. Other laws are stuck in the pipeline and subject to congestion. They must pass through three hoops in order to be effected in the legislative process, and at the final stage they may be terminated.

How can government function effectively and expeditiously in these circumstances? With great difficulty, one would presume. Until Wales has its own parliament and full powers of self-government, as many smaller nations have, this situation will continue and the country will suffer from delayed legislation and consequently ineffective jurisdiction.

It is obvious for all to see that the present Assembly is hamstrung despite all its efforts to create the conditions for growth and prosperity and social regeneration. The answer is plain to see, that Wales needs a parliament with full law-making powers leading to independence as a nation among nations. The economic argument is practically won - witness the success of numerous smaller nations.

Great Britain is in constitutional decline and on a logical and practical level cannot be sustained. As has been pointed out time and time again, Scotland, Wales and Cornwall represent the last remaining colonies of the former British Empire, of which Ireland was once a part, yet now is a successful democratic European nation with a unique culture and a great future. They are even able to defy the European Union when need arises. So silence is not an option. It is time to speak out to those listening throughout Europe and the world - that Wales is Cymru and is the once and future kingdom, or more likely, republic - Cymru Fydd.