The Cornish go to court

[Gorthkrist]

In a scenario resembling the Biblical account of David and Goliath, enigmatic Cornish activist, researcher, historian and author, John Angarrack, who enjoys cult status in the Duchy, is now, once again, preparing to lead a legal challenge to the UK government's failure to recognise the indigeneous Cornish people as a national minority of Great Britain.

In denying the Cornish this right and their inclusion in the Council of Europe Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, the Westminster Government are flying directly in the face not only of public opinion in the Duchy, but also against the recommendations of the Cornwall Council, the Commission for Racial Equality and the Council of Europe itself.

The right to be regarded as a National Minority has been accorded to Irish Travellers, Ulster Scots and many other groups. Thus far, the Cornish have been refused and the Westminster Government have thrown massive resources to block their attempts.

The Cornish people seek nothing more or nothing less than the same rights accorded to these people as well as to the Scots, the Welsh and the Irish, to name but a few.

There is now a groundswell of support for the proper teaching of Cornish issues in Cornish schools following pupils being expelled for declaring themselves Cornish and asking to know more of their own history, language and culture which has been hidden from successive generations down the years.

The feeling amongst many activists is that the real force behind the effort to secure proper recognition for the Cornish who are not English, their ancient Celtic language, their unique and distinctive non English history and their culture is in fact Prince Charles, who wields enormous power and influence in his Duchy. Charles retains to legal right to interfere with any proceedings in any Court, or indeed anywhere else, which may affect his considerable income derived from Cornwall. Media interference has occurred and court hearings manipulated.

Mr. Angarrack has made a previous attempt to challenge the Westminster Government and the matter progressed to the High Court. There, the government employed the best lawyers and eventually, Angarrack and the Cornish conceded defeat as they quite simply ran out of funds.

Cornish mistrust of the Duke has now spread to the Isles of Scilly where home owning islanders have begun to feel the force of Duke Charles and who are also mounting a challenge to him there over the issue of housing.

Angarrack, concurrent with the launch of his latest book 'Scat t' Larrups' which revealed the police and authoritarian state extant in the Duchy, has commissioned two websites recently.

The first reveals the true side of Duke Charles and his Cornish Duchy and the second now appeals to the public for pledges of cash to fund a second legal challenge to the Westminster (and perhaps Duke Charles) Government. With a target of £100,000, remarkably, the sum of £21,275 (as at 6th Sept. 2008) has already been pledged within a few weeks. This is astonishing bearing in mind that Cornwall has been assessed as one of the poorest areas within Europe let alone Britain with the majority of the population earning the minimum wage or less in the case of the 'black' tourist industry with its history of appalling working conditions and legal rights.

The back ground to the truth behind the Duchy of Cornwall can be found here:

The Duchy of Cornwall

The Cornish Fighting Fund website can be found here:

Cornish Fighting Fund

To read of the Cornish Scillonians' fight against Duke Charles:

Charles 'acting like feudal baron'