Rhodri Morgan given a noisy welcome in Aberystwyth

Rhodri MorganTwenty Cymdeithas yr Iaith members stood outside Ysgol Penweddig on Thursday night, to welcome First Minister Rhodri Morgan to Aberystwyth. Holding up posters they called on the Labour Party in its forthcoming Manifesto for the National Assembly to give a comitment that it would introduce a New Welsh Language Act.

Gwenno Teifi, Cymdeithas yr Iaith organiser in Dyfed who led the demonstartion said:"Last week, Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg presented a petition with over 10,000 signatures to the National Assembly Government, calling for a New Welsh Language Act. The opposition parties were represented by various Assembly Members including Lisa Francis (Conservative), Ieuan Wyn Jones (Plaid Cymru), and Eleanor Burnham (Liberal Democrat). But it was significant that not a single Labour politician was present at the event. This has raised serious questions about the Labour Party's commitment to the Welsh language."Two represenatives from Cymdeithas yr Iaith also attended the meeting addressed by Rhodri Morgan and asked him a question concerning the need for a New Welsh Language Act. Rhys Llwyd one of those who attended said:"Rhodri Morgan's answer to our question was hardly satisfactory but it did show that there has been a certain shift in Labour Party thinking on this matter. The Labour Party's outright opposition to language legislation seems to have given way to one of a grudging acceptance that they will have to do something because of the pressure that has been put on them."