..".not because we didn't like the British, but we love Freedom better. I think all of us have the right to be free." Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, a political prisoner of 15 years in her homeland of Myanmar, said these beautiful words to a very privileged audience of British Army Officer Cadets, and staff, at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS) on Friday 26th October 2013. This lady had been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991, "for her non-violent struggle for democracy and human rights." Her message was very well understood, and received. She delivered an inspirational speech praising the concept of freedom which was eagerly heard by those present, who serve to lead, in a non-political army which defends the right to freedom. A noble cause, indeed. Many have, and will, serve in United Nations missions, under UN Charter which enshrines self-determination. In the audience were many young Scots, some from our Universities Officer Training Corps based in Glasgow, Edinburgh, St Andrews, Dundee, Stirling and Aberdeen. The location and audience were at the very heart of the British Empire, and her opening words above, weren't lost on me during the months before Scotland's first Independence Referendum in 2014. The thought percolated in my mind afterwards, "What if Scotland votes yes to freedom which London then rejects? Would this military audience enforce a political decision from their Westminster government to suppress freedom?" This book, of fiction, was born In June 2017, extremely disturbingly, the UK government appointed the leader of the reactionary right-wing British nationalists in Scotland to a military role with the rank of colonel cancelling immediately the status of a non-political UK army which Daw Aung San Suu Kyi admired. Aung San, father of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, formed a revolutionary army in December 1941 to overthrow imperial British rule in their colony of Burma. His paymasters were the Imperial Japanese Army but in 1944, ..".the British Government announced its intention to grant self-government to Burma within the British Commonwealth... [we discussed] the best method of throwing the Japanese out of the country as the next step toward self-government." Burma became independent on 4 January 1948, but not before the exploited Aung San was murdered by British weapons fired by Burmese collaborators, manipulated by the British, in July 1947 when it became apparent that he wanted full independence for his country, not merely dominion status. La perfide Albion. The inspiration for the fictitious Lieutenant Colonel Sean McAlpin in Free Scotland was found. The ethnic cleansing currently taking place against Rohingyas (in former Burma, now Myanmar) is being carried out by Myanmar military. After 2016 elections parliamentarian, "Than Aung Soe opined: "We will try step by step to reduce the military percentage." Yet doing so will require either the military's consent or a true revolution. And no one should count on the former: ...military commander-in-chief Gen. Min Aung Hlaing emphasized the importance of the Tatmadaw [army] retaining its "leading role in national politics."Are Rohingyans entitled to self-determination from military rule? This book of fiction states all peoples are entitled to self-determination, especially, in the face of military dictatorship.

Discover the story of William Wallace, the Scottish freedom fighter made famous in epic blockbuster Braveheart

What is Scottish independence for? Since the referendum, Scottish independence has been captured by conservative forces. Scotland After Britain argues for fidelity to the true meaning of the word independence. It should mean not only a break from the failing British state, but also from the prison of free trade and militarism that has delivered successive crises. Most of all, independence must honestly address the huge injustices of income, wealth and power that continue to define Scottish society, by restoring agency to working class communities and voters. Scotland After Britain shines a spotlight on pro-independence politics since Brexit and the pandemic. The Scottish national question has emerged as the biggest fracture in the British state after Brexit. The independence movement emerged from mass public disenchantment at the status quo, yet the SNP continues governing as if that disenchantment never happened, and the party leadership appears increasingly ambivalent about the risks of demanding independence. Most of all, the British state remains hostile to allowing a second referendum, while the SNP leadership has been unwilling to sanction protest beyond the ballot box. Where do we go from here? Scotland After Britain argues Brexit could force the movement to engage in a reckoning with the true stakes of independence, a process that will inevitably require a breach with the SNP’s establishment vision.