'K' For Kernow - A Year On...

Yesterday, I put my proper journalist's hat on and went looking for a response to the following series of questions from the Managing Director of the RSGB.

At the moment, the Poldhu Club in Cornwall, who had a 'K' regional secondary locator granted for only a year after a ridiculous debacle between the RSGB and OFCOM, are seeking support for the RSL to be continued.

"Dear Steve,

Even if you would not wish to make comment on the 'K for Kernow'
(Cornish RSL) debacle that raged 18 months or so ago, I think you may
agree it wasn't handled by either the RSGB or OFCOM very well.

I am writing an update to the situation as we approach the end of the
year's grant of 'K', now that the calming effects of time have come to
pass. 

At the time of the RSGB's objections to the new RSL, it stated that, to
paraphrase, there would be "wide repercussions" and "confusion" in the
ham community, arising from such a grant. 

A number of people involved, and including myself as an observer and
commentator, found such banshee-esque comments rather silly, and
unlikely to be based on any evidence.  It did not help that the RSGB
claimed repeatedly that "significant numbers" of members had raised
"objections" about the new RSL, yet could not then provide those numbers
to me when I asked Graham Coomber on two occasions.  It smelled of rat,
you see?

Of course, you aren't under any legal obligation to respond to
journalistic enquiries like this, although I might expect, as a member,
I might get something meaningful in return. 

In pursuit of that aim, does the RSGB now regret making alarmist
comments about the consquences of a new RSL, and/or does it have any
proper, objective evidence that shows the year-long grant of the 'K' RSL
has led to any real "confusion" or "wide repercussions"?  Has any other
county, nation or ethnic minority made an application for its own RSL
since 'K'?

Does the RSGB, on reflection, now accept the extraordinarily rare
governmental grant of National Minority Status was never likely to be
repeated in a manner that would lead to a flood of similar applications?
 Alternatively, does the RSGB maintain this original position?

Does the RSGB now accept that, whilst being Cornish might loosely relate
to an association with a county,  the minority status grant was never
"county" based per se, but on an ethnic minority basis - just as being
welsh yields an association wih an ethnic 'nation', rather than a single
administrative county within that nation?  Did the RSGB allow itself to
think of Cornwall less as a very ancient nation, recorded consistently
as a constituent nation of Britain and distinct from England for
centuries, and more simply as a name for a modern administrative county?
 Was the RSGB aware of the legal distinctions arising, for example only,
from the 1337AD establishment of the Duchy of Cornwall?  Does it,
indeed, accept that the National Minority status granted is valid?

Does the RSGB regret making comments that could be perceived as
insensitive, at best, when it asserted that Cornwall was an integral
part of England, seemingly being rather dismissive of the new minority
status, and potentially insulting to those who declare themselves,
including officially (and validly) in censuses, to be 'Cornish', and not
'English'?    Was the RSGB not insensitive, also, in claiming a flood of
new applications would follow, when it failed to recognsie a key
distinguishing factor for Cornish difference from other parts of 
England was their Celtic language, strongly related to the other Celtic
nations, and a critical factor in ethnic identity?

If there is no comment you wish to make, that will be recorded in the
eventual article, but such silence does tend to result in an adverse
image for the organisation, especially when member-funded.  I realise
that this is a complex issue, but one must recall that the RSGB found no
difficulty or reluctance in wading into an ethnic-based issue with very
little evident sensitivity.  It must show itself to be circumspect and
alive to ethnic diversity, even where such ethnicities - mostly white
people in 'just another part of England' - don't outwardly differ as
much as we commonly believe."

The response came just over a week later, and doesn't say very much at all. 

It does, though, show something very wrong with the RSGB's understandin of

events, in that it was not the "EU" that granted minority status, but the UK

government!   

"I've followed-up with some of the Board members who were involved in the 

discussions and would offer the following comments:

Following the decision by the EU to award Cornwall Minority Status, Poldhu 

Amateur Radio Club asked the RSGB to support an application to Ofcom for

Cornish amateurs to have permanent use of K as a Regional Secondary Locator.

This was discussed with Ofcom who were not inclined to support this approach.

The Society received a number of inputs, both supporting and opposing the

proposal. There were strong views expressed against the permanent use of K 

on the basis that Cornwall is not a 'country' and that many of those belonging

to the EU recognised Cornish minority group are no longer located in Cornwall.

The RSGB Board took the view that a permanent change based on a county boundary

would mean other counties could follow suit and we therefore did not support

the proposal.

Ofcom eventually determined that the use of K would be permitted for a period 

of one year only for stations permanently located in Cornwall. The RSGB have 

been supportive of this temporary approach to mark EU recognition. We support 

the initiative by providing the administration, on behalf of Ofcom, of the 

issue of Notices of Variation (NoVs) which allow amateurs to operate with K 

as a Regional Secondary Locator.

Best regards,

Steve Thomas, M1ACB
General Manager
Radio Society of Great Britain "