THE first full-scale march by the Yes movement since the start of the coronavirus pandemic took place through Glasgow city centre on Saturday.
The march’s organiser, Scottish Independence Movement (SIM), was pleased with the turnout, which was estimated by some to be in four figures, though SIM did not carry out a formal count.
That is because the march only began to take shape last Monday, when First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced the lifting of restrictions – which enabled SIM to broadcast news of the march more widely.
Prior to then, Glasgow City Council had followed government guidelines and had accepted a limit of just 50 people to be allowed to join the march.
READ MORE: Scottish independence supporters take to streets of Glasgow for Yes march
Negotiations followed with Police Scotland and that allowed people to join the march with no pre-registration. Police Scotland, incidentally, estimated the turnout at 500 – but photographs suggested twice that number at least.
SIM had stated there would be no rally at Glasgow Green at the end of the march – as had become usual in previous marches – but stated it was pleased that people came from all over Scotland with their banners and flags to make a colourful sight.
There was a brief encounter with an anti-vaxxer march, at which Jeremy Corbyn’s brother Piers was a speaker, but apart from a few jeers there was no interaction between the two marches.
In a post on social media, organisers said pro-independence activists have waited “a long time” to be able to march again.
SIM’s national executive stated that it wanted “to thank each and every one of you from the bottom of our hearts for coming along”.
It added: “Many of you would have noticed that leading off the marchers in front of our banner were a few of our friends from Japan who were keen on becoming involved in our march, not to mention Logan from West Virginia, USA.
“The march couldn’t have passed off any better without you and I thank you for your co-operation.
“While we are all at home still buzzing from the march, let’s all take a moment to reflect on our fellow patriots, friends and colleagues who never made it with us to the end, having passed away from this dreaded disease that stopped us marching these past 18 months.
“We would also like to thank the officers of Police Scotland who displayed outstanding professionalism at all times, providing us with advice and assistance throughout the march, keeping us safe from the start to the finish.
“Last but by no means least, we would like to thank our own stewards for assisting the police to ensure our marchers complied with their instructions.
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“All in all it was a fruitful and constructive day, a show of force from SIM not seen on the streets of Glasgow since November 2, 2019.
“We are gaining momentum but we need to clear that we are marching for the right reasons, not with or or for any political gain or for any political party. We at SIM are clear that we are marching for one reason, one cause, and that is that one day Scotland will be free and an independent country.”
Manny Singh of SIM’s national executive – who was jailed for organising a previous march in Glasgow – said: “These were the first steps back in our marching for independence and we will continue to march and rally until independence is achieved. We obeyed all the restrictions laid down by the Scottish Government due to Covid-19 and
will continue to do so, but now is the time for the whole Yes movement to come together and campaign as one for independence.”
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