By KAREN MCVEIGH
ITS website promises that the 55th Edinburgh Military Tattoo will be the most spectacular ever – a 1,000-strong line-up from five continents.
But, just two months from its official opening on the 6 August, the Tattoo’s organiser, Brigadier Melville Jameson, has found himself at the centre of a growing political storm, facing the threat of a long summer of anti-Tattoo demonstrations.
The Edinburgh debut of the military band of the People’s Liberation Army of China, an army whose troops were responsible for killing pro-democracy protesters in Tiananmen Square in 1989, and whose soldiers continue to occupy Tibet, has caused outrage among politicians and human rights groups.
“It’s still one of the most oppressive regimes on the planet,” said Mike Pringle, the Liberal Democrat MSP for Edinburgh South, and vice-convener of the Scottish Parliament’s cross-party working group on Tibet.
“If someone had invited representatives of Saddam Hussein’s government and band, there would be outrage. This is a government which is repressing its own people, let alone the Tibetans. I don’t think Brigadier Jameson realised what he was biting off.”
A spokesman for Amnesty International said: “Given the legacy of the PLA, at Tiananmen Square and elsewhere in China, the Edinburgh Military Tattoo should think very hard about the kind of message it is sending out by inviting the PLA to attend.”
Relatives of victims of the Tiananmen Square massacre, on 3-4 June, 1989, have not seen anyone brought to justice for the killings, and many activists remain in prison.
In a week which began with the Scottish visit of the exiled spiritual leader of Tibet, the Dalai Lama, and ends with the 15th anniversary of Tiananmen Square, protesters are planning to step up their campaign against the PLA’s inclusion in the Tattoo.
Alison Reynolds, the director of Free Tibet, said that she understood the need to offer the hand of friendship to China, but inviting the PLA was “a step too far”.
“They may be musicians but they are still military personnel,” she said. “They are representatives of an army that is still engaged in oppression. If you are running a military tattoo you need to be sensitive to these issues.”
Among those opposed to the PLA’s visit are Scottish practitioners of Falun Gong, which was banned in 1999 by the former head of state, Jiang Zemin, now the head of the PLA.
Followers of Falun Gong – once said to be larger than the Chinese Communist party – have been persecuted in China, resulting in a reported 1,600 deaths, while many Europeans who practice have found their names on blacklist compiled by the Chinese government.
Beijing-born Christina Jingha, 37, a student who lives in Edinburgh, was refused a Chinese passport and could not travel to see her family because of her adherence to Falun Gong in Scotland. Ms Jingha, along with other practitioners, is travelling around the country to raise awareness of the PLA’s visit.
“I am very worried about the PLA coming over because the head of the army led brutal persecutions of Falun Gong in China,” she said.
“I don’t understand why they have been invited to the Tattoo.” Ms Jingha and other Scottish-based followers of Falun Gong will be conducting protests in Dundee, Perth, Stirling and Glasgow this week.
Brigadier Jameson, who produces the Tattoo, told The Scotsman that his aim in inviting the 50-strong band was to “hold out the hand of friendship” and to produce “a pretty good show”.
He said: “I’m not political. My aim is to put on a good show for Scotland and those who come and see it. In order to be cutting edge I have always tried to bring across acts that people want to see.
“We have huge groups from India and South Africa.”
“They are musicians, not soldiers. I can understand and am very sensitive to the views of the people who are distinctly unhappy with things that have gone on in Tibet, but the show is a cultural exchange, just about music and dancing.”
Brigadier Jameson said his invitation to the PLA had the backing of VisitScotland, the Scottish Tourist board. Yesterday, the organisation denied that the PLA’s visit had its explicit backing.
A spokeswoman for VisitScotland said: “We support the Tattoo but we would not interfere with who gets invited. China does represent a huge market for us.”
