THE National’s story yesterday says Historic Environment Scotland (HES) has refused All Under One Banner the use of Holyrood Park for its rally. What nonsense. Perhaps the Scottish Government can remind them that HES, like all heritage bodies, only hold the land in trust for the Scottish people.

Police Scotland and City of Edinburgh Council have voiced no objections on health or safety grounds. So where does HES suddenly have the rights of political censorship? They do not have the right to behave like private landlords and make blatant political, selective, decisions such as who has access rights against the overall democratic hard-won rights of free assembly and civil liberties.

Unlike England, Scotland is most careless of its heritage. The National Trust, Scotland brackets, is run by private landlords and titled people such as Scotland’s biggest private landlord, the Duke of Buccleuch, who at this moment is evicting 400 tenants to allow him to claim afforestation public subsidies. He is also claiming taxpayers’ money through wind farms etc.

The NTS appointed eccentric British nationalist Neil Oliver as their public face. The angry Scottish public could not be less angry if they appointed Jamie Oliver to “Bake Britain Great Again”, as on the front page of The Big Issue. I gave the homeless seller £1 to bin my Union Jack copy. At least Jamie, unlike Kneel Oliver, is not claiming Shetland and the Orkney as capitals of a “Great” Britain and sticks to making Empire biscuits, whilst Kneel chooses to behave like an English muffin. I would rather have “apolitical” Jamie talking to Scottish pupils than his more British counterpart and namesake. Would you want an Oliver Cromwell in charge of the “Victoria and Albert” in Dundee? Is there any memorial to tell us that Oliver’s Army ran amok in Dundee for four days?

The Irish are not slow to remember their own history in the lesser massacre of Drogheda, etc. Is there any country that would stand for the massacre of their own heritage such as the saftie Scots?

Donald Anderson
Glasgow

READ MORE: Holyrood Park ruled out as a venue for Edinburgh AUOB rally

I HAVE today e-mailed Historic Environment Scotland protesting at their refusal to allow the AUOB march to hold its rally in Holyrood Park. I have pointed out that there are likely to be members of every political party in attendance, including a few Tories, and that as such it is patriotic not politic.

Can I suggest that all members of any Yes groups and others who are not yet in any party or Yes group but who support independence do the same? Perhaps if HES become swamped by e-mails pointing out that we are not political but only interested in Scotland, they might change their mind.

To get on their site you have to put in their address as well as their name so its “Historic Environment Scotland, Salisbury Place, Edinburgh”.

Isn’t it just a bit disgusting that Scotland’s capital city has turned this down whereas several others have gladly welcomed the marches to their towns. Maybe we should be thinking about changing our capital to Glasgow? Good Luck to AOUB in getting this resolved.

Charlie Kerr
Glenrothes

READ MORE: Yes DIY: Holyrood Park refusal stuns AUOB march organisers​

COULD not believe the headline: some functionary has told the people of Scotland that they are not allowed to demonstrate at their parliament? Where do the people in any nation anywhere else go? It really is time we Scots stopped rolling over and doing as we are bid!

To go to a political debating chamber (Holyrood) and be told we are not allowed to be “political” when we get there, will be the measure of what kind of people we really are. We have a choice here: do as we are told (again!), or do what is right!

When I go to Holyrood on October 6, it would be nice to know if I am breaking the criminal law or committing a civic offence. One way or another, my intention is, to be there in defiance of “someone” who quotes from a rule book to a nation and tells us we can go and demonstrate behind a lavvy somewhere (anywhere) except at my country’s PARLIAMENT.

Are we men, or are we mice?

TIME TO SQUEAK UP!

Harry Bickerstaff
St Cyrus, Aberdeenshire

I PRESUME that the Labour party expected their recent conference in Liverpool as a chance to showcase themselves as a “government in waiting” but their attempt went down like a lead balloon. Do we begin with Labour’s National Executive chair Andy Kerr and his anti-Catholic jibe, or shall we go straight to Labour Party chair Ian Lavery MP’s disgusting comment about “killing off the nationalists in Scotland”?

Labour are quick to accuse others of stoking division but the reality is that it’s they themselves that are the worst culprits.

Be if for the Tory party hell-bent on delivering a hard Brexit and fighting amongst themselves or the Labour party failing to deal with members who attack other groups in society. Neither of them are fit to be in government.

Scotland deserves a better option. Scotland deserves the chance to take its own future in its own hands through independence.

Ricky Taylor
Macduff

READ MORE: Richard Leonard distances himself from 'kill off' SNP comments​

I SHARE your correspondent Drew Hannah’s irritation with the BBC’s weather presenters (Letters, September 26).

In addition to Louise Lear demonstrating her lack of knowledge of the geography of Scotland last Sunday, she was also advising us to stay home and read the papers as it was raining hard.

Well, it was in London, but I was enjoying bright blue skies in Ayr, and I am reliably informed that there was sunshine on Leith and most of the rest of Scotland.

The frequent inaccuracy of the weather presenters regarding Scotland’s weather is not just annoying, it could also have a harmful effect on our tourism industry if the impression given to would-be visitors is that it is always raining in Scotland.

Ruth Marr
Stirling

READ MORE: Letters, September 25