Scottish National Liberation Army

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The Scottish National Liberation Army (SNLA) is (or was) a small banned militant group, which aims to bring about Scottish independence. The SNLA has been proscribed as a terrorist group by the UK Government [1]. The group has been reported to have been founded by Adam Busby, a former soldier from Paisley after the 1979 devolution referendum, which the organisation claimed was fixed [2]. There have been claims that the SNLA are a false flag organisation, designed to blacken the name of Scottish independence [3] [4].

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[edit] Activity

One of the most noteworthy incidents occurred in 1983, when letter bombs were sent to Lady Diana and to Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. The device sent to Thatcher was active and was opened by parliamentarian Robert Key. There was no explosion. [1] Busby fled to Dublin in 1983 after the letter-bombing campaign; and was jailed in connection with that campaign in 1997 [2].

In 1993, Andrew McIntosh was jailed for 12 years for conspiring to coerce the government into setting up a separate government in Scotland. The High Court in Aberdeen heard McIntosh had masterminded a campaign of disruption and fear which included placing hoax bombs outside oil industry offices and sending letter bombs to the Scottish Office in Edinburgh. He served six years and was released in 1999. He died in 2004 after being arrested on firearms charges [5].

Another letter bomb campaign occurred in 2002 which targeted Cherie Blair and Scottish politicians. The parcels were recovered after a man claiming to be from the Scottish National Liberation Army (SNLA) made an anonymous phone call to Scotland Yard. Police have never confirmed that the parcels were associated with the SNLA and declared that they might have been the work of an individual. Professor Paul Wilkinson, opined at the time: "The SNLA has surfaced from time to time. It's obviously very tiny, in fact I understand the police are working on the theory it may have been just one individual behind this [6]."

In September 2006, an e-mail from the SNLA, was sent from a Canadian server to the offices of The Sunday Times in Glasgow which stated: “Our aim is to poison water supplies in England, not in the entire UK. We have the means to do this and we shall. This is a war and we intend to win it...This will permanently contaminate the drinking water supplies on which all urban society is totally dependent, killing and injuring thousands of people.” The email is currently the subject of a Strathclyde Police investigation. Meanwhile Busby, may be targeted for extradition to America to face terror charges following a series of e-mails to America about how to contaminate US water supplies [1]

[edit] Associated Organisations

The Scottish Separatist Group (SSG) has been described as the political wing of the SNLA. The SSG was formed in 1995 by former members and supporters of the SNLA, which is proscribed as a terrorist group. Both groups want to reverse English immigration into Scotland and restore Gaelic as the country’s national language [1].

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c SNLA threat to poison water supply by Mark Macaskill and Jason Allardyce, The Sunday Times Scotland, 10 September 2006
  2. ^ a b Who are the 'tartan terrorists'? BBC News Website, 2 March 2002
  3. ^ 'Sad individuals' behind toxic mail BBC News Website, 2 March 2002
  4. ^ Government SNP files sealed for 50 years. Sunday Herald, 21 August, 2005.
  5. ^ Firearms charge man dies in jail BBC News Website, 18 October 2004
  6. ^ Politicians on alert over mail scare BBC News Website, 2 March 2002

[edit] External links