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16-12-2004 Scotsman Save Scotland's regiments: Campaign asks Scots to rally to support regiments By Defence Correspondent Gethin Chamberlain THOUSANDS of protesters are expected to take to the streets in Edinburgh on Saturday to oppose the disbanding and amalgamation of Scotland's infantry regiments. Barring a last-minute miracle, Geoff Hoon, the Defence Secretary, is due to announce today that the Royal Scots and the King's Own Scottish Borderers are to be merged into one battalion that, along with the other existing Scottish regiments, will become part of a Scottish "super-regiment". Opponents of the cuts, who have fought hard to save the regiments, say Mr Hoon's announcement simply marks a new phase of their campaign. They are hoping that the groundswell of support they have gathered over the past few months will be translated into a show of public opposition to the government's plans. Marchers will gather in East Market Street, near Waverley Station, at 11am before setting off along Princes Street at 11:30am, finishing with a rally in Princes Street Gardens at midday. The march will be led by pipe bands and military vehicles. Speakers will include Alex Salmond, the Scottish National Party leader, and a former Black Watch sergeant, Peter Tindall, who recently served in Iraq. Despite deep anger in Scotland and other parts of the UK over the loss of local regiments, the government appears determined to push through the cost-cutting measures. Mr Hoon is expected to announce today that the number of infantry battalions is being reduced from 40 to 36, although he will insist that changes in the structure of the infantry will free up more soldiers for active duty. Critics have argued that the changes will break regimental links with geographical areas and hit recruitment. Others, including the former chief of the defence staff, Lord Guthrie, say cuts will leave the army overstretched. Even the Army Board, which has backed the cuts, has been torn on the question of where the axe should fall, and some of the anger of those facing cuts has been targeted on General Sir Mike Jackson, the head of the army. With a debate raging over which regiments should go, some suggested that he should sacrifice one of his parachute regiment battalions, which Gen Jackson, a paratrooper, had insisted were off limits. Organisers of Saturday's rally are hoping opposition to the cuts will continue to grow as their scale sinks in and they have threatened to take on the government at the ballot box in the general election. Jeff Duncan, who leads the Save the Scottish Regiments campaign, urged people to turn out in strength on Saturday to show their support for the campaign. "Scottish soldiers are putting their lives on the line. They feel betrayed. They deserve better," he said. "They have no voice for themselves as the army prevents them from speaking out publicly but they have fought for us over three centuries and we must now fight for them." Mr Duncan said it was important that people realised the campaign was not just about a desire to hang on to tradition. "It matters because we need to protect jobs for Scots who want to be soldiers and about future capabilities for the army," he said. "The campaign is not about old soldiers reminiscing about tunes of glory and what the army was like when they were young. It is not solely concerned with tartan and history - these are only a part of the reason why the plans for the Scottish regiments are a disaster. Recruitment will suffer greatly as a result of removing local ties with communities. "We are engaged in a hearts-and-minds campaign. The government thought we would not mind and we will show them the fight to retain Scotland's regiments comes from our hearts as well as our minds." Opponents of the cuts also plan to deliver a declaration to Buckingham Palace in the hope that the Queen will agree to it being read out at the end of Saturday's rally. The document urges the Queen to allow the regiments to retain their historic regimental names and titles, their cap badges, their tartans and their traditions. It says: "[The regiments] believe that this is a small request to the nation when compared with the duties and sacrifices that the nation demands of them - a privilege already accorded to Your Majesty's Foot Guards. "Many of us are just back from active service abroad and many of us will soon go abroad on active service. We send to your majesty our loyal greetings on this day when we march in the city of Edinburgh to preserve our traditions and our regiments for the sake of our country."
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................................................................................................................. Copyright ©2004 Gethin Chamberlain. All rights reserved. |
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