THE All Under One Banner (AUOB) group is to defy Historic Environment Scotland after declaring that the march and rally for independence will go ahead as originally planned in Edinburgh later today.
Tens of thousands of independence supporters are expected to take part in the march and it seems that only last-minute legal action could prevent the rally element now going ahead.
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The National can reveal that at yesterday’s emergency meeting of Edinburgh’s Events Planning and Operations Group (EPOG), Historic Environment Scotland (HES) maintained their outright ban on the rally element of the event.
Specifically, they re-emphasised that stages and stalls would not be allowed in Holyrood Park – officially an ancient monument in HES’s care – due to the quango’s blanket ban on any event it considers “political”.
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EPOG, which includes Edinburgh Council and Police Scotland, had been asked by AUOB on safety grounds to allow the rally element to go ahead – as the National has consistently reported, the march segment was never under threat.
AUOB tweeted after the meeting that they were “victorious” and that the police would “facilitate” the rally on safety grounds.
However, HES told The National that they had not been overruled by Police Scotland and “have not given permission” for the rally element.
AUOB’s named organiser Gary Kelly told The National that the rally would go ahead in the park at the end of the march down the Royal Mile, which starts from the top of Johnston Terrace at 1pm.
As The National reported on our website yesterday, the planned protest against HES which was due to take place in Princes Street prior to the march has been called off. The organisers’ Facebook page for that protest has also been taken down.
The National can reveal that at the EPOG meeting, AUOB offered to use temporary stalls and staging for the rally in Holyrood that could be erected and taken down in a matter of minutes, but Gary Kelly said there was no offer of compromise from the quango.
“HES have not budged on their ban on the rally,” said Kelly, “but we are going ahead as we do not think they can stop us.
“Our main concern is safety and with up to 50,000 people attending, maybe more, we need a place for them to rally and disperse.”
AUOB’s head of stewarding Manny Singh said there had been one concession by the authorities as the Scottish Parliament is allowing its toilets to be used.
Singh added: “HES have already said we can march into the park, and we will make sure that is done safely. It will be the usual, family-friendly event that we always host.”
Asked if they feared legal action by HES, AUOB said they had “a good lawyer”.
Following AUOB’s declaration that they will go ahead with both the march and the rally, there was speculation that HES could seek an interdict against the group, but HES would not comment on that issue before The National went to press.
HES did issue this statement: “Following today’s emergency Events Planning and Operations Group (EPOG) meeting, we would like to reiterate our position regarding the All Under One Banner march for independence which is scheduled for Saturday October 6.
“EPOG confirmed the march will go ahead on agreed route including through the road network within Holyrood Park between Horse Wynd through to Holyrood Gait, ending at the Scottish Parliament.
“Our position on use of the Park for any rally after the march remains the same. It has not been overruled by Police Scotland.
“To confirm, we have not given permission for the set-up of stalls, staging, branding and other static presence within Holyrood Park.
The statement continued: “We wish to advise that the public will be able to access Holyrood Park as normal.”
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