ALBA ALONE ?

NATO Secretary-General Lord George Robertson surrounded by media at Skopje Airport, The Republic of Macedonia. Photo by Sasha Uzunov 2002. Why is Big George so afraid of Scottish independence?

ALBA ALONE - why is Lord Robertson afraid of Scotland going solo?

by Sasha Uzunov

For those Balkan Watchers, Lord George Robertson was Team Blair's and later Team NATO's Scotsman the Brave acting as one of the mid-wives, oops I meant to say mid-spouse (I don't want to be accused of misogyny by  pro-unionist Scottish spinner John McTernan), to Kosovo independence. So feisty Albanian Kosovars can have their own nation-state but not canny Scots?

I just can't figure that out… If we follow his Lordship's reasoning - Scotland the creator of much of the modern western world through philosophy, commerce, democracy is not able to stand on its own two feet but Kosovo, an economic basket case, has the guts to go it alone.

It says so much of the fear mongering used by Scotsmen opposed to their own nation becoming independent. It is the Nanny State argument…oops there I go again, I meant Grandparent State….I have to be careful- I don't want to be labelled misogynist by John McTernan ! (link to McTernan story)

The Kosovars had to fight for their independence from then Yugoslavia---but were smart enough to get NATO assistance in 1999. Again, if we follow Lord Roberston's logic, Kosovo should not have broken away from Yugoslavia because it was economically unviable and it would have caused disruption to Kosovar Albanians serving in the Yugoslav Army.

One of his Lordship's argument against Scotland going solo is defence: link:

"Lord Robertson was also dismissive of the idea that Scottish units could simply be removed from the British Army.

It is simply not serious for the SNP to propose surgically amputating Scottish regiments from the British Army without any consideration to what members of these regiments think of it or what it would mean to already formed units. For example, the Scots Guards are a key part of the UK Brigade of Guards and cannot simply be cut out of the brigade on the basis of a political whim, he said."

If I remember correctly the current Prime Minister Agim Ceku, began as a Major in the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA), and in 1991 switched his allegiance to the Croatian Army and rose to Major-General before leading the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA)--without even batting an eyelid.

I met his Lordship and his media enforcer Mark Laity in Skopje, the capital of Macedonia, in 2002 at a press conference. Big George was the Good Cop to Laity's Bad Cop. Both were in town to throw their weight around…In 2001 an ethnic Albanian insurgency erupted in Macedonia, which ironically had helped Kosovo in 1999 by acting as a staging base for NATO's liberation of Kosovo. It was initially and correctly labelled as a terrorist action by his Lordship but when he realised his "boys" north of the border in Kosovo were involved in mischief making so he changed tack and dubbed them "insurgents." 

NATO SHERRIFF IN TOWN - Lord Roberston (second on the right) and to his left Mark Leity, arrive in Skopje, Macedonia 2002. Photo by Sasha Uzunov.

But his Lordship belongs to a group of people called the About Face Activists or U-turn ideologues: you just don't know where they really stand. Others in this group include Joschka Fischer, Helen Clark, Peter Hain, Mike Rann, and many others.

Lord Robertson began his career opposed to nuclear weapons but hey that did not stop him from later becoming UK Defence Secretary under British Prime Minister Tony Blair and later NATO Secretary-General. 

Joschka Fisher was a militant German leftist who battled against "US imperialism" and in 1973 beat to a pulp a West German Police officer during a violent protest. Later as Germany's Foreign Minister he supported the "US imperialist" war in Afghanistan.

Helen Clark, was a long time peace activist who cut her teeth opposing the Vietnam War but as Prime Minister of New Zealand sent in combat troops into Afghanistan. 

Another ex-British politician Peter Hain in his youth campaigned against apartheid and the Vietnam War but later shouted: "We must not be effete: it's time to fight" in Afghanistan.

Iron Mike Rann, English born, was a New Zealand Greenpeace activist who sent in boats to disrupt French nuclear testing in the South-pacific. later he migrated across the the Tasman Sea to Australia and became Premier of the state of South Australia and became a strong supporter of uranium mining in his political backyard. Iron Mike Rann is now Australia's High Commissioner to the UK in London.

One thing is certain London has nothing to fear from an independent Scotland who won't be sending in rebels to "liberate" Wales or Northern Ireland. And I am sure that the Scots are big enough to formulate a pragmatic defence plan.

Scotland through the centuries took up arms to achieve independence but it only has to raise its hands in a ballot next year to achieve that goal without bloodshed.

(Alba is the Scottish Gaelic name for Scotland)

Lord George Robertson should let go of his fear of his homeland Scotland becoming independent. You might recall His Lordship, Big George was NATO's New Sherriff in Town in the Balkans in 1999-2001. Maybe he can rediscover the inner tough guy again ! Photo & artwork by Sasha Uzunov.