News / Autonomy debate being turned into ‘pantomime’ by Sovereign Nation of Shetland, Armitage claims
GREEN councillor Alex Armitage has said he is in “despair at the antics” of the Sovereign Nation of Shetland amid continuing debate about autonomy.
Armitage accused the group of turning conversations about Shetland autonomy into a “pantomime”.
Shetland Greens praised an upsurge in discussions about how Shetland can achieve more political autonomy, with a recent UHI public webinar exploring if the isles can follow in the footsteps of the Faroe Islands.
However it has said the conversation is being dominated by the Sovereign Nation of Shetland.
The group, which is spearheaded by local campaigner Stuart Hill, have attracted controversy for continually claiming that Shetland is not owned by Scotland or the UK.
In a letter to Shetland News earlier this week, Hill said that more autonomy for Shetland was “impossible” and that those asking for it were “part of the problem”.
“Freedom of Information requests to everyone from the UK and Scottish governments downwards reveal that none of them holds the information showing how the Crown owns Shetland and how Shetland is part of Scotland,” he said.
“By the Scottish definition, we already have sovereignty, not just ‘more autonomy’, but the whole package.
“What is currently in place is an elaborate scam at the highest level, kept in place by fear and coercion. It has no foundation.”
He said Shetland was already “sovereign in our own right”.
“This is the reality. All else is fantasy – held in place by fear. All it takes is a change of mindset for the realisation to set in,” Hill added.
“If anyone has any proof to the contrary, let us know.”
While Armitage said more debate about autonomy was to be welcomed, he said the Sovereign Nation of Shetland had “failed to set out a positive vision for what an autonomous Shetland would look like”.
Instead, they had “supported regressive ideas such as stripping back the right of outdoor access” and “turning Shetland into a tax haven”, Armitage claimed.
He encouraged people to “reject the petty, narrow-minded nationalism” of the Sovereign Nation of Shetland.
“We may be an island community, but we must never be insular,” Armitage said.
“Shetland has always depended on people and products from overseas, likewise, we have always provided essential goods for others.
“An autonomous Shetland can not only prosper, it can also be a force for good in the world.”
He said Shetland was “particularly vulnerable to tone-deaf policy making” from the central belt.
“I believe that far more decisions that affect Shetland should be made locally.
“Shetland can follow Faroe’s example and be a prosperous and sustainable society.”
Shetland Greens said their vision for an autonomous Shetland was for local ownership and control over environment, natural resources and industries.
It said decisions on taxation, education, health, transport, trade, energy and industrial development would all be made locally.
And it added an autonomous Shetland would take control of the marine area around the isles out to the 200 nautical mile exclusive economic zone limit.
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