Saltire hijacked by US far-right group

ONE of the fastest-growing white supremacist groups in the United States has hijacked the Saltire to symbolise its struggle for a political system run by Celtic "kith and kin".

Scottish tourists visiting Florida and the southern states on holiday have been warned that displaying Scotland’s national flag on their clothes now runs the risk of association with the extremist followers of the League of the South.

The league, founded in Alabama in 1994, has nearly 10,000 members who claim Celtic roots and campaign for the "revitalisation of a general European cultural hegemony".

It has been described as "rife with white supremacists and racist ideology" by researchers from the Southern Poverty Law Centre, a civil rights institution which investigates right-wing activists in the US.

Last year, the league set up an inner Circle of St Andrew for members who agreed to donate $600 (400) towards the salary of a full-time president. Members are given a Saltire lapel badge, and the symbol is also displayed on their website.

Euan Hague, a professor at DePaul University, Chicago, who has studied the League of the South, said the group has recently adopted the Saltire and Scotland’s patron saint .

"This group is dedicated to southern independence, which is based on their view that they are descendants of an Anglo-Celtic civilisation," he said. "They are particularly active in Florida, but I have also seen them at Highland games events in Dallas, Texas. It is a small but very active movement."

He added: "For Scots travelling to tourist locations in Florida wearing a Scotland T-shirt may be understood to mean something other than patriotic pride - like support for this unsavoury political organisation."

The League of the South was set up by Michael Hill, a former professor of Scottish history. Members often wear kilts from the grey and red Confederate Memorial Tartan and play bagpipes at meetings. The group has 96 chapters in 20 states and is distinguished from other extreme right-wing groups because of the high number of academics, lawyers and professionals among its hierarchy.

The league advocates the creation of a theocratic state in which ethnic minorities are allowed to live but would be required to submit to the "cultural dominance of the Anglo-Celtic people".

In 2000, the Southern Poverty Law Centre published a 53-page report on the League of the South, which it described as a "hate group". Mark Potok, the author, wrote: "This is a group that, when it began six years ago, said its purpose was to defend southern values, but they defend slavery, segregation, and ... say how wicked black people are."

The starry rebel cross of Old Dixie, the flag of the breakaway southern states, was modelled on the Saltire, and the white rebels in the deep south have mythologised their imagined Scottish heritage ever since.

The Ku Klux Klan, set up in 1867 in an attempt to restore white supremacy, is said to be a reference to the south’s Highland clan ancestry. Dr Hague, who moved to the US from Edinburgh in 1994, added: "They believe the south is Anglo-Celtic, by which they mean Celts who speak English. This is a group completely out of touch with Scotland’s inclusive and cosmopolitan society that is making Scotland’s national emblems their own."

The League of the South did not return calls from The Scotsman.

A spokesman for the SNP said: "The saltire is a Scottish symbol. Scots are an open-minded nation and this group should not be abusing this symbol for their own narrow-minded means."

Kate Smith, who is researching nationalism at Glasgow University, said: "There has been an increasing trend for US campaigners to adopt Scottish national symbols, since Scotland is regarded around the world as an example of "good" nationalism. The Saltire is representative of that identity .

"I think the league’s hijacking of the Saltire could cause the average American citizen to confuse our nation’s flag with right-wing extremism."

Paul Scott, the chairman of the Saltire Society, said: "This is very unfortunate . Although it is deplorable, there is not a lot we can do to stop them."

Origins in the mists of history

ACCORDING to legend, the Saltire appeared as a good omen in 832AD, just as King Angus mac Fergus was about to lead his army of Scots and Picts into battle against the overwhelming force of the invading Northumbrians in what is now East Lothian.

Two crossed lines of white appeared against the blue background of the Scottish sky - representing the diagonal cross on which St Andrew was martyred - and inspired the Scottish underdogs to win what was to become known as the Battle of Athelstaneford (the invading army was led by Athelstane, king of Northumbria).

From that day the Saltire became the national flag of Scotland, making it possibly the oldest national flag in the world.

It was later incorporated in the Union Flag, although the colour of blue is different - the Saltire is azure while in the Union Flag, it is navy blue.

In a show of support for Scotland’s history, an increasing number of the country’s 32 local authorities are choosing to fly the Saltire, rather than the Union Flag, all year round, ignoring Westminster guidance which suggests the Saltire be flown only on St Andrew’s Day.

The Scottish Borders Council announced last year that the Saltire would be flown from the flagpole at its headquarters in Newtown St Boswells. It was following local authorities in Edinburgh, Glasgow, the Highlands, Aberdeenshire, Angus, Clackmannanshire and Perth and Kinross.

The Saltire’s design is said to have originated from the story of how the apostle Andrew successfully petitioned the Roman authorities who had sentenced him to death not to crucify him on the same shape of cross as Christ.