Letters / A Stuart Hill myth
I am amazed [nay gobsmacked] at John Tullochs letter They want total control (SN, 09/06/15).
For some obscure reason Mr Tulloch is under the illusion that Alistair Carmichael’s [admitted] lie, along with, Tavish Scott’s keeping Alistair’s lie quiet for two weeks [along with five days to think about his response] and Sir Malcolm Bruce openly suggesting that it’s all right to lie because “All politicians do it”, is [somehow] acceptable and OK?
Mr Tulloch also fails to admit that the case against Mr Carmichael has been raised by various people “out with” the SNP, ordinary decent folk that would prefer an elected MP representing them where “lying” was deemed unacceptable, but I gather this doesn’t fit in with Mr Tulloch’s anti-SNP stance?
The other issue that Mr Tulloch doesn’t seem to realize is that whether Shetland & Orkney choose to be a part of the rUK or a part of Scotland makes not one blind bit of difference?
As he has pointed out, Shetland and Orkney are in the unique position of not [legally] being a part of the UK or Scotland for that matter, yet time and time again Mr Tulloch blames the Scottish government for every failing on these islands, so on one hand he does not accept that the Scottish government should have a legitimate say in S&O affairs, but on the other hand, he’s quite happy to accept whatever the Scottish Government has to offer?
Mr Tulloch paints a picture where S&O have a legitimacy to own ALL the oil and fishing rights within their EEZ [Economic exclusion zone] i.e. 200 miles off their coast.
Sadly this EEZ encroaches of Scotland’s EEZ of 200 Miles off their coast, so when we look for examples throughout the world, islands are more often than not, deemed as “annexes” of their closest mainland, I’m afraid Mr Tulloch’s wish is just that, a wish. Perhaps Mr Tulloch could show one example where an island has precedence over their closest mainland neighbours?
In reality S&O would have the ‘sovereign rights’ of 12 miles from their shore, anything more than that would have to be agreed and negotiated between both parties, when we consider coastlines, population and historic economics.
I’m afraid Mr Tulloch’s claim that it ALL belongs to Shetland, is nothing more than a Stuart Hill myth.
The next episode in Mr Tulloch’s misinformation is “It bears repeating. Westminster will provide the opt out”.
This is another fantasy where for some magical reason Westminster will be quite happy to allow Shetland and Orkney to secede from Westminster’s vice like grip, much in the same way that they kept their word with regards to paying their historic debt of £40 Million to the SIC for building oil workers houses back in the 70s.
Did they lie? Absolutely… but then again if people are happy with ‘liars’ then perhaps Alistair Carmichael should just carry on regardless, uncontested?
At the end of Mr Tulloch’s rant there is a dire warning, “should the SNP become the gatekeepers at the next referendum, Shetland will be “sunk”, forever”.
I’d imagine that 56 out of 59 seats in Scotland [that the SNP won,] 50 per cent of the entire electorate, the 50,000 English voters that signed the petition #TakeUsWithYouScotland, the tens of thousands of English voters that wanted to join the SNP after the UK debate, along with the American public that had nothing but praise for Nicola Sturgeon, ALL have it wrong then and Mr Tulloch has it spot on?
Robin Stevenson
Glasgow
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