WEEK BEGINNING
MONDAY 13TH MARCH 2006
Running around mad this
week – trying to make up the time I spent in Malawi. Lots of
constituency work locally because of the Council by-election –when I
go canvassing, every doorstep chat turns into a mini-surgery! Still,
it’s a bit of the job that I really enjoy. As ever, we have the Health
Service problems (a lady of over 8 decades being told that it will be
2 years before she can get a hearing aid! How ridiculous is that?),
postal service issues in Gilmourton where they’ve removed the local
post box (“there’s another 300 yards away” says the Royal Mail; “aye
right”, say the locals, “along the fast, busy main road with no
pavements - what happens if you don’t drive?” “We’ll put it on a bus
shelter” say the Royal Mail … and then they continue “however, we are
not aware of any date when a bus shelter might be erected”.). You
couldn’t make some of it up you know.
Another bizarre “you
couldn’t make it up!” episode on Tuesday: I was asked to go along to a
lunch with some visiting Iraqi lawyers who were receiving some
training in London. The details I received pointed out that due to
security reasons we were to keep the names of the delegates secret and
not disclose them to anyone. Fair enough – I can see the point of
that. However, I wandered down to the dining area to see them having a
group photograph taken by the Parliament’s photographer for placing on
the Parliament website! Names secret/faces plastered across the world!
it was actually an interesting lunchtime discussion – they had been
receiving human rights training, and asked why when all their training
talked about the need for an independent judiciary, with no perception
of political interference, then how come in Scotland the Lord Advocate
and the Solicitor General were part of the Government? You may well
ask! Of course this potential conflict of interest has been thrown
into the spotlight because of the Shirley McKee fingerprint case.
Interesting meeting of
our European & External Relations Committee on Tuesday afternoon when
we discussed a Legislative Consent Memorandum (used to be called Sewel
Motion) to allow Westminster to legislate on behalf of matters
relevant to the Scottish Parliament under the proposed Regulation and
Reform Bill. This proposed Bill is the subject of much debate and
discontent in Westminster currently as it gives wide ranging powers to
UK Government and reduces the power of Parliament. In our case, to cut
a long story short, that whilst the reasoning given by the Scottish
Executive on this is that it would be for ‘tidying up’ and ‘technical
matters’ relating to European legislation. However, our giving this
consent would mean that UK Ministers could amend anything we do here
in Scotland by Ministerial Direction rather than primary legislation –
the ultimate result of this could in fact be that UK Ministers could
decide just to abolish the Scotland Act! As the ‘lead committee’ the
Executive needs a report from us before it goes to our Parliament for
debate. We refused to give the report because we felt (and I have to
say unanimously, across the parties on our committee) that not enough
information was given to us to properly discuss how we wanted to
proceed. So, the Minister on the hotseat has agreed to come back to us
with more detail. If anyone wishes to read all the deliberation, the
link is at:
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/committees/europe/meetings.htm.
If you want a hard copy let me know.
Busy Wednesday with a
debate about Poverty in the morning. Christine Grahame was leading
this for the SNP and asked me to participate on international issues.
Happy to do so in a raising awareness manner, but not so happy that in
this day and age we are still talking about poverty at such a high
level both home and afar. In international terms, I still get annoyed
every time I hear how committed the New Labour Government seemingly
are; yes, this UK Government is doing more than the last lot, but
still not meeting their international obligations like other countries
are capable of doing! Until they commit to the UN agreed 0.7% of GDP
in international aid, then quit patting yourselves on the back!
Anyway, it’s about time Scotland took the initiative here – as I said
in the debate, even though we’re not yet independent and committed to
playing a full part in the world, we can still take stands in issues
like international aid. Other devolved legislatures do – the Basque
and the Quebecis (is that the right terminology? Please French
Canadian readers let me know) to name but two.
I was accused recently,
by letter from someone who didn’t give an address, of being ‘naïve’ in
my views – in fact, I don’t think he/she likes me or the SNP at all,
covering as he/she did everything under the sun, detailing why the SNP
have got it wrong (Scotland should not help anyone except what this
strange correspondent terms as ‘real Scots’), and why I in fact am the
worst one of all! Anyway, when it comes to international aid and fair
trading agreements, I am not naïve. I know it’s not easy, I know there
are corrupt Governments around (in all parts of the globe), I know
there are hard choices to be made and that we have to be very careful
that we don’t create dependency cultures or become over-zealous in
imposing what we believe to be democracy and rights. But, whilst
there are children starving, people being bombed to oblivion, and folk
dying of curable or containable diseases, anywhere on this planet that
we call Earth, then we have to keep trying.
Evening meeting, as
Europe Convener, with parliamentarians from Eastern Europe who have
been taking part in a ‘young politicians’ programme through the
British Council. I know that Nicola Sturgeon had been involved (yes,
she’s just young – I can see this), and then Kenny MacAskill (now he’s
not so young – let’s face it Kenny!). Bosnia-Herzegovena, Bulgaria,
Montenegro – fascinating to hear all their experiences.
Fresh Talent debate on
Thursday, relative to the Committee’s report. You know, there’s so
much I want to rant on about regarding Fresh Talent; the fact that
there’s so much of it here already that we refuse to utilise because
of the UK Government’s immigration and asylum policies; the fact that
we ignore some of our own home-grown talent by allowing innovative
invention and design to be sold off to other countries (wave
technology for example). But, as Committee Convener I was only able to
present our report, which was in fact fairly hard-hitting, and be
reasonable – always difficult. Never mind, my SNP colleagues did a
grand job. A meeting too with Scottish Enterprise on Wednesday, to
discuss how Scotland’s doing in business, with particular emphasis on
Research and Development – not so well I’m afraid. The Enterprise
Committee’s recent report entitled “Business
Growth - the next 10 years”
covers a lot of these issues and is well worth a read:
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/committees/enterprise/index.htm.
If you want a hard copy let me know.
A sad event on Thursday
lunchtime when I was asked to accept a letter from Iraqi Kurdish
people resident in Scotland. Thursday was the 18th
anniversary of the Halabja massacre in Iraq, when thousands of Kurds
were killed by chemical weaponry in a revenge attack by Sadaam
Hussein. The Kurdish Union had asked their members to present letters
to their national parliaments. I was honoured to be asked to accept
this, and have laid a commemorative motion in the Parliament:
*S2M-4136 Linda
Fabiani: Anniversary of Halabja Massacre—That
the Parliament, along with Kurdish communities and other organisations
around the world, remembers 16 March 2006 as the 18th anniversary of
the attack on Halabja; respects the memories of the thousands who died
and recognises the pain of those who survived but suffer long-term
health effects; condemns any use of chemical weapons and attacks
against civilian populations; reaffirms its opposition to genocide,
and supports the call to bring to justice those responsible for the
attack, to seek compensation for the victims of the attack, to work to
address the environmental problems caused by this attack and others
and to help the refugees of these attacks to return to their
homelands.
The Kurdish community
were in our minds again on Friday afternoon when I finished work
locally and sped through to Glasgow for our meeting of the Cross Party
Group on Asylum Seekers and Refugees. This was a joint meeting with
the Mental Health CPG and we were discussing the mental health needs
of asylum seekers and refugees in our community. The presentation was
given by Dr. Anne Douglas of Glasgow-based Compass – a dedicated
service, covering Glasgow only. Dr. Douglas told us that there was a
high level of need amongst the Kurdish community in Glasgow. The
information she imparted was stark and disturbing – what lives some
people have. Some of the issues raised during our Fresh Talent debate
two days before were also re-affirmed – denial of the right to work is
contributing to the mental health problems of some asylum seekers,
especially males. As we know, most asylum seekers are professionals
(doctors, lawyers and teachers amongst them) who just want to
contribute to the country in which they now live, awaiting a decision
as to whether they can stay here or not. That waiting in itself, and
the whole asylum process, is another cause of some of the mental
health clients seen by Dr. Douglas’s team. And, then when you consider
that treatment is sometimes interrupted by Dawn Raids, carting folk
off to Detention Centres, you despair at what is being done in our
name in our country. Especially when some of these people have already
experienced - within their country of origin or en-route to another
country - hardship and torture that most of us just can't begin to
imagine.
I believe passionately
in Scottish Independence – basically the right for those of us who
live in Scotland to make our own decisions and run our own affairs; I
believe passionately in the basic decency of Scottish culture and our
national psyche – as an independent Nation we would be a force for
good in the world, and that’s what keeps so many of us, of all ages
and from all backgrounds, fighting on. Signing out now – by-election
work to do!
Linda Fabiani
19.3.06
Email Linda at
Linda.fabiani.msp@scottish.parliament.uk
