At 8.30 am Friday November 11th Gwyn Sion Ifan from Bala became the latest member of Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg to be arrested for painting slogans calling for a Welsh Language Act on the walls of the Welsh Assembly Government building in Cathays Park, Cardiff.
This direct action campaign will continue until Christmas in order to concentrate First Minister Rhodri Morgan's mind on the need for new linguistic legislation.
Catrin Dafydd, Chair of the Welsh Language Act Campaign Group said:"There is a consensus amongst language experts that new language legislation is now absolutely necessary. It is only the Welsh Labour Government in Cardiff that denies this. By abolishing the Welsh Language Board Rhodri Morgan and his government has created a political vacuum that they know not how to fill. It is their duty to promote a full and open discussion about the future of the language.""It is common practice to have any social legislation reviewed ten years after it was enacted. Present language legislation in Wales should be reviewed and the 1993 Language Act strengthened. The Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg campaign will continue until the government agrees to discuss the matter."
Today's direct action takes place shortly before Cymdeithas members whohave already taken part in this campaign face a series of court cases. Cymdeithas intends to keep the present direct action going up until Christmas.Police arrest innocent bystanders along with language activistCymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg has been told by a reliable source (a memberof the Press) that police arrested two innocent students this morning while Gwyn Sion Ifan, a Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg activist was painting a slogan on the Welsh Assembly Government building in Cardiff as part of the Society’s campaign for a New Welsh Language Act.Dafydd Morgan Lewis, speaking on behalf of Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg said:"Not only was Gwyn Sion Ifan of Bala arrested for painting a slogan on the wall of the National Assembly building but two innocent bystanders.""Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg believes that the two persons arrested by the police were students at Newport College of Art and they were preparing a film on Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg as part of their course work. They were in Cardiff today filming a Cymdeithas activist taking part in a Direct Action Campaign.""Cymdeithas are concerned that these two innocent bystanders should have been arrested whilwe working on their filming project. They are in no way connected with Cymdeithas campaigns. We shall be contacting a lawyer to make sure that they come to no harm."STOP PRESS:The two students were released without charge from police custody just after 2pm having spent 5 hours at the police station.Gwyn Sion Ifan has by now also been released and charged with criminal damage.