NEWS FROM THE CELTIC LEAGUE The Manx Nationalist Party Mec Vannin held its Annual General Meeting on Monday the 11th of May 2015 at St Patricks Hall in Peel. Minutes of the 2014 AGM were read and agreed and reports from Officers presented.   It was recorded that the Party had an active year with regular monthly meetings held and the usual participation in Annual events such as Tynwald Day and Illiam Dhone Day had gone of smoothly.   The President, Bernard Moffatt, in his speech recorded that the party is now well over half a century in existence, but the Island still faces difficult challenges as Mann strives to maintain its distinct culture and identity  (excerpts below).   ?Mec Vannin has been the consistent institution to articulate political Nationalism on the Isle of Man for over fifty years. During that period its fortunes have ebbed and flowed but it has remained consistent in its ideal that only positive political change through full independence achieved via constitutional means can ensure that the Isle of Man continues to thrive and most importantly also have a separate and distinct cultural identity. Since then the Island has achieved what the Government sometimes refer to as ?greater independence?, however, the fact remains that we are not masters in our own house and the (UK) State which regards itself as responsible for our ?good governance? is increasingly hostile towards us. If Mec Vannin continues long enough to celebrate another fifty years the only way that the distinct identity of the Isle of Man can be secured is via full independence. There will be nothing, however, to celebrate if the Isle of Man remains as some ?parasitic? dependency entity attached to an increasingly unstable United Kingdom.? The Chairman remarked that we need to promote a wide-ranging agenda in the coming years and many of the resolutions down for discussion later would get that off to a good start. The Secretary reported that administration had been undertaken effectively and this was also reflected in the Treasurer's report. The Cultural Officer advised that plans were well in hand to establish the National Commemorations Body and also looking ahead he was researching a further cultural initiative for 2017. The Treasurer reported a healthy surplus of income over expenditure and said this would considerably enhance the organisations financial reserves (due to the present positive state of finances and because of the continuing austerity on the Island a further reduction in subion rates for those who were unwaged or on low or fixed incomes was agreed). The meeting elected Officers for 2015/16 as follows: President: Bernard Moffatt Chairman: Mark Kermode Secretary: Cristl Jerry Treasurer: Paul Kelly Cultural Officer: Roy Kennaugh Editor: Peter Crellin: (Also to be responsible for Social media and communications) International Relations Officer: Allen Moore The meeting adopted number of resolutions full details of which can be found here. Resolution media comments from Chairman Mark Kermode can be found here (plus audio clip): (voir le site) (voir le site) J B Moffatt (Mr) Director of Information Celtic League 14/05/15 (Please note that replies to correspondence received by the League and posted on CL News are usually scanned hard copies. Obviously every effort is made to ensure the scanning process is accurate but sometimes errors do occur.) ISSUED BY THE CELTIC LEAGUE INFORMATION SERVICE. The Celtic League has branches in the six Celtic Countries. It works to promote cooperation between these countries and campaigns on a broad range of political, cultural and environmental matters. It highlights human rights abuse, monitors all military activity and focuses on socio-economic issues Download our News App for Android here. Internet site at: (voir le site) (voir le site) Share this!