Cornish National Liberation Army

The Cornish National Liberation Army (CNLA) was a short-lived Cornish nationalist paramilitary organisation that threatened to perform acts of vandalism and arson against commercial targets that it considers to be English, in Cornwall.[3]

Cornish National Liberation Army
Active1960s
Country Cornwall
Nickname(s)Cornish Liberation Army (CLA)
Motto(s)Onen Hag Oll (in Cornish)
(English: One and All)
Colours
  • Black     
  • White     
Insignia
Flag [1] [2]

History

In 2007 an email claiming to be from the Cornish National Liberation Army, threatened celebrity chefs Jamie Oliver and Rick Stein. The following month a 36-year-old man was arrested for making the threats.[4]

It has been described by the Cornish political party, Mebyon Kernow, as a 'pseudo-terrorist group'.[3] Dick Cole, spokesman for Mebyon Kernow, released a statement[5] to various London papers.

The group also opposed the flying of the English flag in Cornwall, and has threatened to destroy all English flags in the region.[3]

There is little evidence as to the size of the CNLA other than an August 2007 interview in Cornish World Magazine in which Stuart Ramsay claims they have thirty members.[6]

Cornish Republican Army

In November 2007, Per Svenssonn, a writer for the internet periodical Ciudadanos Europeos, successfully gained an email interview with a member of the CRA through the Cornwall24 website's forum.[7] As well as confirming the name change, the interview outlined (among other topics) the structure of the organisation, confirmed official CRA attacks and suggested future plans.

When questioned on forthcoming events, the CRA spokesperson answered:

"2008 promises to be an interesting year for the English occupying forces and their establishment. Beyond that, no comment."

A hoax took place in March 1974 when students from Plymouth Polytechnic styled themselves the 'FCA' (Free Cornish Army) as part of a Rag Week stunt and convinced some of the Fleet Street press that Cornwall had declared independence.[8]

Arrests

The police arrested three people in Cornwall, accused of having some connection with the CNLA. None of those arrested were formally charged. The Celtic League wrote to the Chief Constable of Devon and Cornwall Police to protest the arrests, describing those arrested as members of the League's Kernow Branch, and expressing 'alarm' at the arrests.[9]

In pop culture

In the 2015 film The Bad Education Movie based on The TV series of the same name, Alfie Wickers and class K goes to Cornwall, but accidentally gets involved with the Cornish Liberation Army, a terrorist organisation fighting for Cornish independence.

Footnotes
  1. 'The Parochial History of Cornwall', by Davies Gilbert. (1838) Vol III, p. 332
  2. Phil Rendle, Cornwall – The Mysteries of St Piran, The Flag Institute
  3. Morris, Steven (2007-06-14). "Cornish militants rise again – and this time they're targeting celebrity chefs". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 2007-06-18.
  4. Sturcke, James (2007-06-14). "Man arrested over threats to celebrity chefs". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 2007-07-10.
  5. Cole, Dick. "Letter to London Press from Cllr Dick Cole concerning CNLA coverage". Mebyon Kernow (party website). Archived from the original on August 20, 2007.
  6. "CNLA: the writing on the wall" in Cornish World Magazine, Issue 53 (August/September 2007) pp.50–53.
  7. https://web.archive.org/web/20071123223533/http://www.cornwall24.co.uk/module-pnForum-viewtopic-topic-2867-start-0.htm
  8. Part One – How to create your own nation state (the real story of the 1974 Cornish revolution) Archived 2007-08-12 at the Wayback Machine
  9. League, Celtic. "CELTIC LEAGUE: GENERAL SECRETARY 'ALARMED' AT EVENTS IN CORNWALL". Cornwall Police Watch. Retrieved 18 June 2011.
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