8th Jan: RALLY FOR THE KURDS

Saturday, January 27, 2001

Meeting 10.30am
Canolfan Bro Tegid
Y Bala

Speakers:

Elfyn Llwyd MP
Kate Geary (Ilisu Dam Campaign)
Ali Manaz (Kurdish jouranlist, Kurdistan National Congress)
Gwyn Siôn Ifan (Chair - Cymdeithas yr Iaith)

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Rally 1pm
Tryweryn

Speakers:
Elfyn Llwyd MP
Cllr Dylan Edwards
Cllr Dafydd Iwan
Ali Manaz
Dave Bradney (Wales Green Party)
Raoul Bhambral (Ilisu Dam Campaign Cymru)
Kurdish Dance Group

Côr Cochion Caerdydd

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RALI DROS Y CWRDIAID

Sadwrn, Ionawr 27, 2001

Mae Llywodraeth Prydain yn ystyried rhoi £200 miliwn i Balfour Beatty iadeiladu Argae Ilisu. Bydd yr argae yn boddi ardal hanesyddol y Cwrdiaid, gan symud 70,000 o bobl. Tryweryn ydyw ar raddfa anferth. Mae angencefnogi'r Cwrdiaid. Ma angen stopio'r argae.

Cyfarfod 10.30 yb
Canolfan Bro Tegid
Y Bala

Siaradwyr:
Elfyn Llwyd AS
Ali Manaz (gohebydd Cwrdiaid, Cynghrair Cenedlaethol Cwrdistan)
Kate Geary (Ymgyrch Argae Ilisu)
Gwyn Siôn Ifan (Cadeirydd - Cyndeithas yr Iaith)

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Rali 1.00yp
Tryweryn

Siaradwyr:
Elfyn Llwyd AS
Cyng Dylan Edwards
Cyng Dafydd Iwan
Ali Manaz
Dave Bradney (Plaid Werdd Cymru)
Raoul Bhambral (Ymgyrch Argae Ilisu Cymru)
Dawnswyr Cwrdaidd
Côr Cochion Caerdydd

About the Tryweryn Dam:

In 1955 Liverpool Corporation (local authority) announced that they wantedto build a dam near Y Bala in N Meirionydd. The dam would drown thevillage of Capel Celyn, a forcibly remove up to 70 inhabitant from thevillage and surrounding hill farms, all of whom were Welsh speaking.Although the numbers were relatively small, the action would have alasting impact on the struggles for the Welsh language, the future ofPlaid Cymru, and ultimately the struggle for a National Assembly.In 1956 the Liverpool Corporation debated the issue, and the 70 villagestravelled to Liverpool to make their case. Gwynfor Evans (who became PlaidCymru's first MP in 1966) was allowed to put the case for the villages.

The Corporation voted 94 - 1 in favour of the dam.The building of a dam required an Act of Parliament to be passed, so theissue was debated in the House of Commons. The Liverpool MPs all supportedthe dam. Bessie Braddock MP (Liverpool, Exchange) said "Some disturbanceof the inhabitants is, of course, inevitable. Everyone deplores the factthat in the interests of progess some people must suffer, but that isprogress." Sir Victor Raikes (Liverpool, Garston), said "I agree thatwhether the number is 70 or whether it be 700 the principle is the same. Ido not disagree on that, but what I do say, and I say it with all theemphasis at my command, is that if it is decided that in the interests ofa large number of people the rights of a very small number of people areaffected, then, subject to proper safeguards for the minority, the rightof the majority must prevail."

Even more telling was the intervention of Henry Brooke, the Conservative Minister for Welsh Affairs. "Members who had voted for the Bill's rejection would saddle themselves with a very grave responsibility for water shortages which might occur in the next few years on Merseyside and in south-west Lancashire. I cannot believe that preservation of the Welshway of life requires us to go as far as that."

All Welsh MPs voted against the Bill, but it was passed by the House of Commons. The debate showed the powerlessness of Welsh MPs to influence Welsh Affairs, and the lack of any Welsh institutions where matters suchas this could be discussed and decisions made. Despite a vigorous campaign by villages and by Plaid Cymru, the dam building went ahead. The last family moved out on July 28 1963, almost six years to the day after the Act was passed. The opening ceremony in 1965 was disrupted by more protests against the dam.

The day of the Rally, January 27, is particularly significant, as it is 40 years to the day when the last train to Capel Celyn ran. One of the speakers at the rally, Cllr Dylan Edwards, comes from one of the families which was thrown out of their homes when the area was drowned. Tryweryn still acts as a powerful symbol for the people of Y Bala, and for Welsh speaking people more generally.

The impact of Tryweryn has been long debated. Some see it as one of the major influences on the formation of Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg (Welsh Language Society), who have spent the years since their formation in 1963 waging a campaign of non-violent direct action on behalf of the language. Many of the activists have been imprisoned because of the actions they have taken.

Tryweryn has also been credited with boosting the fortunes of Plaid Cymru.

The year after the dam was opened, Plaid won it's first seat, and its support has grown steadily to the point where it is now the main opposition in Wales.

Another, hotly debated legacy, is the impact Tryweryn has had on the call for self-government for Wales. The lack of power of Welsh people to shape their own lives was starkly shown with the vote by Liverpool Corporation,the House of Commons, and the powerlessness of Welsh MPs. Some argueTryweryn was directly responsible for the setting up of the Welsh Office. From there it has been a long haul to the establishment of the National Assembly for Wales, which held its first historic elections in May 1999.