Nobel nominee for ‘sovereign’ conference

CAMPAIGN group Sovereign Nation of Shetland has received advanced donations worth thousands of pounds to enable them to host a conference free of charge later this month.

One of the organisers, Stuart Hill, said that the £5,500 received will help set up an alternative society in the isles.

He said that 2009 Nobel Peace Prize nominee Dr Jim Garrow had agreed to participate in the conference which will be held in the Shetland Museum and Archive between 26 and 28 August.

The group said that all Shetland residents who were prepared to take responsibility for their own lives and would like to be part of designing a new society from the ground up were invited to the conference.

According to the group’s spokesman Daniel Gear, from Nesting, the conference will focus on:

• a new form of democracy that ensures a fair distribution of power, so that our public servants do not become our masters;
• a tax system where the people decide how much they wish to contribute to the society and how the money is spent;
• a new monetary system that is interest-free, prevents boom and bust, does not require constant unsustainable growth and does not allow one per cent of the population to control 98 per cent of the wealth, as has happened with our present system;
• a system of law that helps people in their daily lives and gives them responsibility, rather than providing a means of state punishment when they break the rules;
• an education system to truly develop every child’s true potential, and a health system designed to benefit patients, not drug company profits.

Mr Gear said: “The Sovereign Nation of Shetland is not telling the people of Shetland what to do, or how to act, but is prepared to lead by example.

“It is our earnest hope that others will wish to join with us when they see the benefits. Although free, admission to the conference is by ticket only and numbers are strictly limited.”

Details and tickets from www.sovereignshetland.com or by phoning 01950 477829.