Cornish National Liberation Army

Last updated

The Cornish National Liberation Army (CNLA) was a short-lived Cornish nationalist paramilitary organisation that threatened to perform acts of vandalism and arson against commercial targets that it considered to be English, in Cornwall. The organisation has been described by the Cornish political party Mebyon Kernow as a 'pseudo-terrorist group'. [1]

Contents

History

The CNLA claimed to have been formed through the merge of An Gof and the Cornish Liberation Army. [1]

In 2007, an email claiming to be from the Cornish National Liberation Army threatened the restaurants of celebrity chefs Jamie Oliver and Rick Stein in Cornwall, claiming they were hurting local people though driving up living costs. The following month a 36-year-old man was arrested for making the threats. [2]

The group also opposed the flying of the English flag in Cornwall, and has threatened to destroy all English flags in the region. It claimed to have been involved in arson attacks on English people's holiday homes in Wales. [1]

There is little evidence as to the size of the CNLA other than an August 2007 interview in Cornish World Magazine in which Stuart Ramsay claimed they had thirty members, with a similar number being reported in 2017. [3] [4]

Cornish Republican Army

In 2017, the group announced a name change to the Cornish Republican Army (CRA), as the previous name had been used by other groups. [4]

The CRA claimed responsibility for a firebomb attack on Rick Stein's restaurant in Porthleven, along with other fire incidents in Truro and Penryn. They also claimed to have a suicide bomber ready to undergo an attack. [4] However, the Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service confirmed the restaurant fire was "probably an electrical issue and not one of deliberate ignition". [5]

Comparisons to a fictional group in the 2015 film The Bad Education Movie have been made, in which Alfie Wickers and class K go to Cornwall but accidentally get involved with the Cornish Liberation Army, a terrorist organisation fighting for Cornish independence. [5]

Related Research Articles

Nationalist terrorism is a form of terrorism motivated by a nationalist agenda. Nationalist terrorists seek to form self-determination in some form, which may take the form of gaining greater autonomy, establishing a completely independent sovereign state (separatism), or joining another existing sovereign state with which the nationalists identify (irredentism). Nationalist terrorists often oppose what they consider to be occupying, imperial, or otherwise illegitimate powers.

The Scottish National Liberation Army (SNLA), nicknamed the Tartan Terrorists, is a Scottish nationalist paramilitary group which aims to bring about Scottish independence from the United Kingdom. The SNLA has been condemned by the UK government. The group was reportedly founded in 1980 by Adam Busby, a former soldier from Paisley after the 1979 devolution referendum, which the organisation claims was fixed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia</span> Armenian militant organization that operated from 1975 to the early 1990s

Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia (ASALA) was a militant organization active between 1975 and the 1990s whose stated goal was "to compel the Turkish Government to acknowledge publicly its responsibility for the Armenian genocide in 1915, pay reparations, and cede territory for an Armenian homeland." ASALA itself and other sources described it as a guerilla and armed organization. Some sources, including the United States Department of State, as well as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan listed it as a terrorist organization.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Female suicide bomber</span> Woman who carries out a suicide attack

Female suicide bombers are women who intend to do suicide attack, wherein the bomber kills herself while simultaneously killing targeted people. Suicide bombers are normally viewed as male political radicals but since the 1960s female suicide attacks have been on the rise. Through 1985–2006, 15% of all suicide attacks were conducted by female suicide bombers. There are many organizations, such as Boko Haram, ISIS, and the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, that recently started using women as tools in their attacks, since they are normally viewed as less of a threat than their male counterparts. This includes women having the element of surprise, a hesitancy to search females, increased publicity for female suicide bombing attacks, and the female stereotype as non-violent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael An Gof</span> One of the leaders of the Cornish Rebellion of 1497

Michael Joseph, better known as Michael An Gof, was one of the leaders of the Cornish rebellion of 1497, along with Thomas Flamank.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rick Stein</span> English chef

Christopher Richard Stein, is an English celebrity chef, restaurateur, writer and television presenter. Along with business partner Jill Stein, he runs the Stein hotel and restaurant business in the UK. The business has a number of renowned restaurants, shops and hotels in Padstow along with other restaurants in Marlborough, Winchester and Barnes. He is also the head chef and a co-owner of the "Rick Stein at Bannisters" restaurants in Mollymook and Port Stephens in Australia, with his second wife, Sarah. He writes cookery books and has presented numerous cookery series for the BBC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Revolutionary People's Liberation Party/Front</span> Political party in Turkey

The Revolutionary People's Liberation Party/Front is a Marxist–Leninist communist party in Turkey. It was founded in 1978 as Revolutionary Left, and has been involved in a militant campaign against the Republic of Turkey since the 1980s. It was renamed in 1994 after factional infighting. It is classified as a terrorist group by Japan, Turkey, the United States, the United Kingdom and the European Union.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Terrorism in India</span>

Terrorism in India, according to the Home Ministry, poses a significant threat to the people of India. Compared to other countries, India faces a wide range of terror groups. Terrorism found in India includes Islamist terrorism, ultranationalist terrorism, and left-wing terrorism. India is one of the countries most impacted by terrorism.

Meibion Glyndŵr was a Welsh nationalist group which carried out more than 200 arson attacks against English-owned holiday cottages in Wales. The organisation was founded in 1979, during a period of increasing nationalist sentiment in Wales. During this period, significant elements of Welsh public opinion were opposed to the purchase of holiday cottages in Wales by English people, perceiving it as being a major cause in increasing Wales' house prices. Members of Meibion Glyndŵr were responsible for setting fire to several English-owned properties in Wales from 1979 to the mid-1990s, with only one person connected to the group being arrested.

Peter Joseph "Jack" van Tongeren is the former leader of the West Australian Neo-Nazi group Australian Nationalist Movement (ANM), a white supremacist and far-right group, and a successor organisation called the Australian Nationalist Worker's Union (ANWU). He served 13 years, one month, and six days in prison from 1989 to 2002 for theft and arson, having robbed and firebombed businesses owned by Asians in Western Australia. In the late 1980s it was revealed Van Tongeren's father was of part-Javanese ancestry. Nevertheless, Van Tongeren resumed anti-Asian activities upon his release in 2002, leading to further convictions, in 2006.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Insurgency in Balochistan</span> Insurgency in Pakistan and Iran

The Insurgency in Balochistan is an insurgency or revolt by Baloch separatist insurgents and various Islamist militant groups against the governments of Pakistan and Iran in the Balochistan region, which covers the Pakistani province of Balochistan, Iranian province of Sistan and Baluchestan, and Balochistan of southern Afghanistan. Rich in natural resources, this is the largest, least populated and least developed province in Pakistan and Iran, and armed groups demand greater control of the province's natural resources and political autonomy. Baloch separatists have attacked civilians from other ethnicities throughout the province. In the 2010s, attacks against the Shia community by sectarian groups—though not always directly related to the political struggle—have risen, contributing to tensions in Balochistan. In Pakistan, the ethnic separatist insurgency is low-scale but ongoing mainly in southern Balochistan, as well as sectarian and religiously motivated militancy concentrated mainly in northern and central Balochistan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Balochistan Liberation Army</span> Baloch militant group based in Afghanistan

The Balochistan Liberation Army, is a Baloch ethnonationalist militant separatist organization based in Afghanistan. BLA's first recorded activity was during the summer of 2000, after it claimed credit for a series of bombing attacks on Pakistani authorities. BLA is listed as a terrorist organization by Pakistan, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

The history of terrorism involves significant individuals, entities, and incidents associated with terrorism. Scholars often agree that terrorism is a disputed term, and very few of those who are labeled terrorists describe themselves as such. It is common for opponents in a violent conflict to describe the opposing side as terrorists or as practicing terrorism.

An Gof was a militant Cornish nationalist group suspected of a series of attacks in the 1980s. The name was also used by a group in 2007.

This timeline of Animal Liberation Front (ALF) actions describes the history, consequences and theory of direct action on behalf of animals by animal liberation activists using, or associated with the ALF.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baluch Liberation Front</span> Militant group operating in the Balochistan region of southwestern Asia

The Balochistan Liberation Front is a militant group operating in the Balochistan region of southwestern Asia. The group was founded by Jumma Khan in 1964 in Damascus, and played an important role in the 1968–1973 insurgency in Sistan and Baluchestan province of Iran and 1973–1977 insurgency in Balochistan province of Pakistan. However, the group's insurgency was defeated in both Pakistan and Iran and the status of the group became unknown until 2004. The group re-emerged in 2004 after Allah Nazar Baloch took command of the group in 2003. Since then the group has taken responsibility for attacks on civilians, journalists, government officials and military personnel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cornish nationalism</span> Nationalist movement in the United Kingdom

Cornish nationalism is a cultural, political and social movement that seeks the recognition of Cornwall – the south-westernmost part of the island of Great Britain – as a nation distinct from England. It is usually based on three general arguments:

Oxford Arson Squad is a militant animal rights organization, which emerged in the United Kingdom in 2005 after claiming the firebombing of the Corpus Christi College Sports Pavilion at Oxford University. The university denounced these acts of direct action stating that "the intimidating nature of this message is totally unacceptable".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sheikh Omar Hadid Brigade</span> Islamist militant group active in the Gaza Strip

The Sheikh Omar Hadid Brigade, also known as Islamic State in Gaza, is an Islamist militant group affiliated with the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant that was reportedly active in the Gaza Strip around 2015. Its goals have consistently matched those of the Islamic State, in that it seeks to establish the al-Sham caliphate. As such, it opposes all forms of Palestinian nationalism while also supporting the elimination of all Jews and other ethno-religious 'infidels' from the region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United Baloch Army</span> Militant organization

United Baloch Army was a militant group, fighting for the separation of Balochistan. The group has been designated as a terrorist organisation by the Pakistani government. The government of Pakistan banned the group on 15 March 2013. The group has also been classified as a terrorist organisation by Switzerland's government.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Morris, Steven (14 June 2007). "Cornish militants rise again – and this time they're targeting celebrity chefs". The Guardian . London . Retrieved 18 June 2007.
  2. Sturcke, James (14 June 2007). "Man arrested over threats to celebrity chefs". The Guardian . London. Retrieved 10 July 2007.
  3. "CNLA: the writing on the wall" in Cornish World Magazine, Issue 53 (August/September 2007) pp.50–53.
  4. 1 2 3 "Militant Cornish nationalists claim to have suicide bomber ready". The Scotsman . 10 July 2017.
  5. 1 2 Bullen, Jamie (10 July 2017). "'Terror' group's claims of arson at TV chef's restaurant dismissed by fire crews". The Mirror. Retrieved 22 August 2023.