NATIONAL newspaper coverage of an ‘independence’ debate by the States today ‘has overblown the situation’. One deputy described headlines of ‘Guernsey to discuss severing link with the UK’ as ’silly, damaging stuff’. An article in yesterday’s Daily Telegraph claimed that the decision to hold the meeting behind closed doors had provoked anger among the population, and described the meeting as ‘cloaked in secrecy’.
Members saw it more as a workshop, though some said that, following normal protocol of department meetings, they would not be prepared to reveal details of discussions afterwards. Suggestions that deputies were to be silenced were rejected.
‘This is a non-story,’ said Deputy Lyndon Trott.
‘It’s about education much more than secrecy. It’s an initial briefing involving maybe 75 policymakers and law drafters which should extend to involving the whole community in the coming weeks.
‘This is important initially to ensure that States members have enough understanding of the issues to be able to participate with authority in debate with the community. It’s not dissimilar to the way we treated the corporate tax reform debate.’
Deputy Barry Brehaut said: ‘I am interested in what will happen but we need to be realistic. I don’t know what others are expecting but I’m not expecting a drive for independence.
‘I think that the States would make a very real mistake if it toyed with independence. I don’t think it’s clear what people want to be independent of and from, when we are ultimately reliant on the world around us.
‘It’s not something I’ve become totally absorbed in - I think that there are far more immediate problems to deal with.’
Deputy Graham Guille, who favours establishing a stronger island identity, had not read the story. But informed of its contents, he said: ‘In the absence of fact, people tend to make things up as they go along.’
He described today’s meeting as a workshop and said that it should be useful to inform debate.
‘Personally I will welcome the opportunity to gain a better understanding from experts in the field.’
The UK coverage illustrates concern from Chief Minister Mike Torode that potentially damaging news about the island can go around the world in minutes.
Yesterday afternoon the story had been picked up by websites in Germany, the US and South Africa and national radio - the Guernsey Press newsroom was contacted by a journalist from Poland about it.
n Editor Richard Digard was invited to go on the BBC Radio 4 lunchtime programme World At One to comment on the situation immediately after comments from Deputy Torode, but declined. He said that further inflaming the national debate would have been unhelpful.
Article posted on 20th April, 2007 - 12.00am
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