Wednesday 3 August 2016

We can't exclude Ukip from Welsh debates.

The row has erupted at the Eisteddfod after the National Assembly broke the "Welsh language rule" during an event is a difficult one to resolve.
The BBC reports that 
At a panel held on Monday by the institution UKIP's assembly leader Neil Hamilton contributed in English.
Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg called on the Presiding Officer to ensure the situation "would not happen again".
Mr Hamilton said the rule should have exceptions. The assembly said it "genuinely believed" it was adhering to the event's Welsh language principle.
The discussion panel on the maes that prompted the row was held by the assembly's Culture Committee.
All the AMs present there were Welsh speakers, except for Mr Hamilton who is teaching himself Welsh.
The Eisteddfod rules declare that Welsh is the language of the festival.
Jamie Bevan, chairman of the Welsh language society Cymdeithas yr Iaith
Gymraeg, said: "It's of grave concern that the rule has been broken.
"The presiding officer and the Eisteddfod should be clear about it when arranging events.
"We would like to receive assurance from the Presiding Officer that this will not happen again."
 Some argue that the Assembly have been over generous  in the allocation of committee seats and certainly Culture, Welsh Language and Communications Committee 

Bit excluding them would give them the mantle of victim that they crave.

So Neil Hamilton is a member and again mot inviting him to the panel would have allowed him to claim discrimination.

So what can be done , Frankly I don't know .

But there has been some very unfair criticism of Plaid AM Bethan Jenkins  who chairs the committee  as I see it she had no option.

At the last Assembly Ms Jenkins experienced some difficult times 

Early in the hours of Sunday 14 October 2012, Jenkins was arrested by South Wales Police in Llandaff, Cardiff for driving erratically. When tested, she was more than twice the legal limit, but was released on police bail without a charge for drink driving. Jenkins subsequently issued a statement, stating that there were "no excuses" for what she had done, and that she had resigned her position as Plaid's spokeswoman on heritage, the Welsh language and sport. Her statement also stated that she had been receiving professional medical help for depression. On Monday 15 October, Jenkins was suspended from the Plaid group of AMs "while the process of justice takes its course".[1

Since then she  has become one of our nost effective AMs  who was impresive during the Assembly campaign winning the highest sjhare of the vote in Aberavon sibce  1997 and rightly deserves  her position  .

I din't think any Chair of a committee that faces the same problem that Ns Jenkins faced om Monday could have dealt with it differently except for cancelling the panel or moving it off the Maes.

I fully support the All Welsh Rule . but as long as Mondays occurrence does not become the norm , then rather than go overboard  with criticism . We should be seeking solutions.



1 comment:

Leigh Richards said...

Perhaps of more concern should be the tiny number of people from ethnic minorities who visit the Eisteddfod - disturbing to report it's invariably an almost exclusively white affair :(