THOUSANDS of independence supporters are expected to descend on Arbroath on Saturday as the Yes movement looks to get back on the front foot coming out of the pandemic.
All Under One Banner organised the march to celebrate the 700th anniversary (plus two) of the signing of the “legendary” Declaration of Arbroath in 1320, after Covid forced the cancellation of events planned for 2020 and 2021.
The campaigning organisation urged anyone who can to attend, saying: “Now is the time to intensify and accelerate the campaign.”
READ MORE: Call for Yessers to unite at Arbroath after Covid 'scattered everything to the wind'
An AUOB spokesperson said: “Thousands of independence supporters will march at Arbroath to mark the timeless significance of the legendary Declaration and express the seismic demand for Scotland's freedom now.
“We're looking forward to seeing everyone in what will be a phenomenal gathering and great time for one and all. The rally will be addressed by a range of speakers from across the movement with great speeches, and there'll be live music and a broad array of Yes stalls.”
Those speakers will include the SNP president, Michael Russell (below), who told The National he would talk about the significance of Arbroath even seven centuries on.
He is expected to say: “It is the people of Scotland who have told the Government they elected that they wish to exercise their right to choose how to be governed.
“They wish to do what the Declaration of Arbroath asserted could and should be done in Scotland – to ensure that government flowed from them, from the grassroots up, not from the elite down.”
Russell said a second theme would be the need for a united Yes movement as Scotland walks down the road to indyref2.
He said mutual respect should act as the “bedrock” on which this united front can be built.
“It is the common cause of independence that must heal us and bring us together in mutual respect,” he is expected to say.
Local singer-songwriter Eddie Carney, who will be performing at the rally, has been involved with plans to mark the anniversary of the Declaration of Arbroath since they were originally conceived.
He previously told The National that the rally would be “a case of rebuilding, of getting off our backsides and making it happen”.
AUOB will be meeting at Arbroath’s Inchcape Park before the march begins at 12.30pm “sharp”.
The procession will proceed through the town's ancient streets, passing Arbroath Abbey en route to Victoria Park, where the rally will take place.
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