Scotland - Protest over Consulate closure

The Alba Branch of the Celtic League have been lobbying the Royal Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Norway to reconsider their decision to down grade the Norwegian Consulate General in Edinburgh to an Honorary Consulate in the summer on this year.

In a letter to the Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jonas Gahr Støre, Alba Branch Secretary Iain Ramsay said :

«The recent reopening of the Scottish Parliament and the more recent development of a nationalist government should seem to indicate that Scotland is well on its way to independence, and if that transpires, you could very easily have to consider opening an Embassy in Edinburgh, an event which would give many Scots great pleasure.»

Mr Ramsay goes on to say :

«It is perhaps obvious but worth pointing out the advantages of keeping in contact with our nations being so close in proximity, the oil industry and its subsidiaries. Furthermore your consulate is so busy that instead of closing it you should be considering an increase in personnel to cope with the work load.

In conclusion we respectfully request that you give considerable thought to the retention of the Royal Norwegian Consulate in Edinburgh which we trust will soon become the Royal Norwegian Embassy in the Kingdom of Scotland.»

The Alba Branch plans to hold a protest towards the end of this summer outside the Consulate in Edinburgh, prior to its closing where the Branch will hand deliver a final appeal to King Harold V of Norway.

The letter from the Norwegian Foreign Minister to the Branch is below:

«Dear Mr Ramsay

Thank you for your letter of 7th December 2007 expressing your concern regarding the change of status of the Norwegian Consulate General in Edinburgh.

Let me assure you that the decision to transform our consulate General in Edinburgh into a Honorary Consulate does not imply that Scotland has become less important to us. Resting on deep historic bonds and many areas of cooperation, Scotland will always hold a special place in the relationship between Norway and the United Kingdom.

Which diplomatic and consular missions Norway is to maintain are subject to an ongoing assessment of political, economic and other considerations. The need to allocate resources in order to meet new international challenges in regions where Norway has not previously been represented has made it necessary to reorganise parts of out foreign representation.

Although we are now changing the status of the Consulate General in Edinburgh into a Honorary Consulate, I can assure you that our mutual interests will be taken care of in a most satisfactory way by a Honorary Consul, assisted by a full time locally employed assistant financed from Oslo. Further, our Embassy in London will also continue to pursue and strengthen its focus on important fields of cooperation between Norway and Scotland within a variety of areas, such as education, research, culture and business.

Relations between countries and peoples that are as close as ours involve both extensive formal and informal cooperation. Through our foreign service as well as through the many institutions and organisations working to preserve and develop new arenas of contacts, I am confident that we have a solid base for further cooperation regardless of the adjustments made to our consular representation in Edinburgh.

Sincerely yours

Jonas Gahr Støre»

(Report compiled for Celtic News by Rhisiart Tal-e-bot, General Secretary)

J B Moffatt Director of Information Celtic League

29/04/08