Caithness contingent among 10,000 on 'Freedom March' through Inverness
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CAITHNESS supporters of Scottish independence were among an estimated 10,000 people from all over the country who took part in a “Freedom March” in Inverness on Saturday.
The aim of the event on Burns Day was to show the strength of feeling for a second independence referendum. People of all ages took up the Scottish saltire – together with a variety of other flags, including French, Catalan and Polish – and made their way through the city centre to Bught Park.
The size of the turnout came as a surprise to the organisers, who said they had been expecting around 1500.
There was a small counter-protest by a group in favour of maintaining the union between Scotland and the rest of the UK.
Independence supporter John McLeod, originally from Thurso and now living in Inverness, was part of the strong Caithness presence on the march, which featured a group of bikers and the pipes and drums of Saor Alba.
Mr McLeod described it is a "joyful and peaceful" occasion.
“It was a great success, with around 10,000 people taking part from all over,” he said. “There were people from Glasgow, Aberdeen, Dundee, Perth, Arbroath, Dunfermline, Edinburgh, Skye, Barra, Nairn and Ross-shire, and of course our own Caithness contingent.
“As we were all there for the same purpose, and marching for the same cause, comments were along similar lines to what I heard while participating in the Edinburgh march, where 200,000 took part, and the George Square rally Glasgow which saw 20,000 take to the streets.
“These ranged from one older gentleman saying 'I really hope I can see independence in my lifetime' to a much younger person saying, 'It's our right to choose what happens in our own country – our generation is the future.'
“Others were saying that independence is becoming more inevitable every day. There was an almost collective chorus of, 'It's our right, and they can't take that away from us.'
“A man originally from Sunderland who has been in Scotland for 30 years, and is now living in Thurso, said he voted no in the 2014 independence referendum but had since changed his mind. He said that the march was a great opportunity for us to express our freedom of choice and that he could never live back south again, with all the chaos going on now at Westminster.
“Equally telling was the comment from a Spanish couple I talked to, Manuel and Ana, from Galicia, who had run a café in Gairloch for three years. 'We love Scotland and the Scottish people,' they told me. 'Ever since we came here we have been treated with such friendliness, everyone making us feel very welcome. We would like to stay here but are uncertain now of the future. The Scottish people of course should have the right to choose, and we hope we see it.'"
Mr McLeod said he had counted less than a dozen counter-protesters with their Union Jacks on Bridge Street in the city centre.
"They looked very despondent and completely out of place but they offered no heckling," he said, adding: "The next march is in Arbroath, and hopefully I will be travelling to that one too."
March organiser Eilidh McKenzie said: "It all went very well. We really didn't expect such a big turnout – we were expecting around 1500 people to join the march – so this was really overwhelming.
"It was really an incredible mix of ages and nationalities attending.
"We decided to organise the march after the general election as we felt that Westminster's actions do not represent Scotland. We voted to remain in the European Union and now we are forced to leave.
"There were not any events for independence planned until later in the year for the area but we felt the Highlands needed to have its own voice.
"It's very important for people to stand up for what they believe in."
The event was supported by politicians including Drew Hendry, Ian Blackford and John Finnie.
