The desire for nationhood in Wales is no less valid than that of Ireland and Malta according to new Plaid Cymru President, Dafydd Iwan. He was speaking out at the same time as some in the Party were warning about advocating independence too prominently. Cynod Davis who lost in the ballot that saw Dafydd Iwan elected warned that concentrating on the aspiration of Welsh independence would be "a disastrous mistake". However the Plaid Cymru president is properly rejecting such negative thoughts saying; "I think it's important for us to see whatever short-term aspirations we have in the longer-term context of independence in the European Union and with a place at the United Nations." He went on to say that 2004 should be the year that a timetable for Wales' constitutional progress is set out. He speculated that full independence in 20 to 25 years was attainable. Bernard Moffatt Secretary General