Letter to The Herald

ON November 21 The Herald gave prominent coverage to an anti-Bush protest that suspended the Scottish Parliament for three minutes. Which was fair enough considering that the SSP-initiated debates on world peace and poverty had been boycotted by the Scottish Executive that day. It was only through this stunt that these debates received any media coverage at all.
However, now on December 3, The Herald completely ignored the launch of one of the SSP's flagship parliamentary bills on radical plans to tackle Scotland's horrendous problems of drug addiction. This bill aims to establish for the first time in Scotland a network of community-based day centres to provide detox, rehab, counselling, and maintenance programmes for every addict who seeks help. The bill, lodged by Rosemary Byrne, MSP, has already been signed by 15 other MSPs so will now go out to consultation after which it make it through to the next stage of Parliamentary proceedings. It needs the support of 65 MSPs to become policy. So why is it that a three-minute stunt by an SSP member in a George Bush mask merits national media attention yet a considered and important bill on drug addiction services is blanked by The Herald as well as the BBC, the Scotsman, the Record, and others? Have The Herald's news values succumbed to the shock-trivia agenda of the tabloid press? Or is doing something constructive to help get addicts and their families out of the nightmare of heroin addiction not considered as important as a three-minute stunt?
We hope that The Herald redresses this imbalance and gives an important and considered bill, already supported by 16 MSPs, the fair coverage it deserves.

Kevin Williamson, SSP drugs spokesperson; Rosemary Byrne, MSP; Frances Curran, MSP; Colin Fox, MSP; Rosie Kane, MSP; Carolyn Leckie, MSP; Tommy Sheridan, MSP, The Scottish Parliament.

Above: MSP's, including Frances Curran (SSP) and Shiona Baird (Green), and activists meet with Luis at the Scottish Parliament.


This week Luis Eduardo Garcia, a trade-unionist from Colombia representing the food and drink workers union Sinaltrainal completed a successful tour of the UK including a week in Scotland. Luis addressed meetings in Glasgow, Stirling, Fort William, Aberdeen, Dundee and Edinburgh. At the meetings he described the situation in Colombia where trade unionists face the risk of assassination at the hands of right-wing paramilitary death squads. To highlight killings and attacks on trade unionists working at Coca-Cola bottling plants in Colombia, the union is calling for a boycott of Coke products for one year.

The campaign has had a successful start with a vote by students in Dublin and several pubs and clubs in Ireland to boycott Coke. In Scotland there were pledges from students in Glasgow, Stirling, Aberdeen and Edinburgh to take up the campaign. Trade Unionists in Fort William, Dundee and Edinburgh also pledged to highlight the campaign and will call on the STUC to back the boycott.

Luis attended the Scottish Parliament on Thursday 4th December. SSP MSP for West of Scotland Frances Curran appealed to the parliament to welcome Luis' visit and to help secure his safety when he returns to Colombia.

Extract from the Official Report of the Scottish Parliament

Frances Curran (West of Scotland) (SSP): On a point of order, Presiding Officer. Before the chamber empties, I ask whether we could welcome to the gallery Luis Eduardo Garcia, a Columbian trade union leader with Sinaltrainal. The reason why it is important to do so is that he fears for his life when he returns to Columbia. I hope that he will have the support of the Scottish Parliament.

The Presiding Officer (Mr George Reid): That is not a point of order, but I am sure that members regard him as being very welcome. [Applause.]



The SSP have previously put a motion to the parliament to support the boycott.

S2M-376# Frances Curran: Boycott of Coca-Cola—That the Parliament supports the international boycott of Coca-Cola, launched by the Colombian trade union federation Central Unitaria de Trabajadores de Colombia (CUT) and supported by the World Social Forum in Brazil, to highlight the murder of eight trade union leaders at Coca-Cola bottling plants in Colombia, and considers that people across Scotland should boycott Coca-Cola as part of the international campaign to force this multinational company to pay compensation to the families of those murdered, assist in bringing the assassins to court and guarantee trade union and human rights at their bottling plants throughout Colombia.

Supported by: Tommy Sheridan, Rosie Kane, Carolyn Leckie, Elaine Smith, Ms Rosemary Byrne, Shiona Baird, John Swinburne, Mark Ballard, Margo MacDonald, Mr Mark Ruskell, Chris Ballance, Ms Sandra White

Glasgow Evening Times
HEALTH bosses in Glasgow have been accused of forcing the public into making "unacceptable sacrifices" over city hospitals.
Scottish Socialist health spokeswoman Carolyn Leckie condemned NHS Greater Glasgow Board's controversial plan to close the Queen Mum's maternity hospital at Yorkhill

By Hilary Duncanson, Scottish Press Association

MSPs today launched a Bill demanding the setting up of drug treatment facilities for addicts in local communities.
The Scottish Socialist Party (SSP) unveiled the proposals at the Scottish Parliament in a bid to tackle the “emergency” of Scotland’s drug abuse problem.
Rosemary Byrne, SSP list MSP for the South of Scotland, said her Bill set out a benchmark for standards of provision for treating drug users.
Ms Byrne, who was today accompanied by former drug users and charity workers, said: “This Bill is about our experiences in the community.
“We want to transfer those experiences into a national strategy and we want to get away from stigmatising people as ‘junkies’.”
The Bill proposes the setting up of facilities in local communities where registered addicts may receive treatment and support.
These measures include counselling, housing support, rehabilitation and so-called “maintenance prescribing” – the prescribing of drugs such as methadone to wean users off their habit.
Such provisions, which would ideally operate at grassroots level in the communities with greatest need, would take addicts away from crime and the clutches of drug dealers, the SSP claimed.
The community drug treatment programmes would be funded by savings made through the criminal justice system, the Socialists added.
For every £1 spent on treatment, £3 would be saved by not having to house addicts in prisons or in care, the SSP said.
The Bill is a bid to tackle what the SSP cite as gaping holes in the provision of treatment for Scotland’s 50,000 drug addicts.
Kevin Williamson, the SSP’s drug spokesman, said Scotland was in an “emergency situation”.
He said: “One person dies every day from drugs in Scotland. I think this is the biggest challenge the SSP has ever faced.”
The Bill will now go out for extensive nationwide consultation with drugs workers, health workers and members of the voluntary sector.
Fifteen MSPs, including members of the Green Party and Independent MSPs Dennis Canavan, Dr Jean Turner and Margo MacDonald, have signed up to the Bill to date.

SSP Research, Policy & Media Unit
Press Release: 02/12/03

Scottish Socialist Party MSPs have criticised the BBC over its willingness to promote Coca Cola to young people when there is an epidemic of obesity in children.
Frances Curran, the Socialists’ MSP for West of Scotland, has tabled a motion critical of the BBC and Coca Cola. The soft drinks giant gave an undertaking less than a fortnight ago to stop targeting their products at under 12 year olds. But now it has secured sponsorship of the Official UK Charts meaning Coca Cola’s name will be prominently featured and mentioned in every Top of Pops show broadcast.
Frances Curran MSP said, “We can see that Coca Cola’s voluntary agreement to stop targeting children was absolutely worthless. It’s high time we completely banned the advertising of fast food to children. There is already an epidemic of obesity amongst children and the health consequences are going to be disastrous unless we act soon”.

New Zealand News
The presence of socialist Scots MP Colin Fox had been a boost to the conference. The Scottish Socialist Party had been steadfast to it socialist principles and in May this year six MPs were elected to the Scottish Parliament.