Herald on Sunday letters

Might it all have been so different and so very much more democratic if the Danish solution to so many of the concerns had been on offer from the EU or had been accepted by Theresa May?

I do not know whether the Danish Model was even discussed but the fact that two of the autonomous territories of the Kingdom of Denmark – Greenland and the Faroes – are outside the EU (mainly because of fishing interests) while Denmark itself is an EU member, and all remain parts of the Kingdom of Denmark, seems to provide a basis which could offer answers to so many of the problems arising in the UK.

On the side of democracy, so ill-served throughout the entire debate, both Northern Ireland and Scotland would achieve the referendum result for which they voted if they remained members of the EU and the problem of the border with the Republic of Ireland would not arise while England and Wales would also achieve their wish and be out of the EU, while the UK as a unit would continue as does the Kingdom of Denmark.

Many other issues will remain to be resolved, such as the frightening loss of democracy, disregard for constitutional principles and the rise of aggression and intolerance associated with the whole Brexit issue, but these could be worked out given time, compared to the urgency of the unbelievable Brexit mess in which we find ourselves and would be easier to resolve while separated from the question of EU membership.

Alexander McQuarrie

Balbeggie, Perth

JUST WHAT KIND OF UNIONIST AM I?

One of your correspondents (Letters, January 27) asks what kind of unionist I am, presumably because in a previous letter I had pilloried all our political leaders, in particular the First Minster. May I answer?

I singled out Nicola Sturgeon because, in my opinion, she is selfishly and hypocritically using a very serious and life-changing crisis affecting around 60 million of her fellow citizens in the UK primarily to placate a wild element in her own party.

I do not like the term unionist, as I was called, because to someone of my generation it implies a deep ultra-conservative ethos I do not have. I much prefer being labelled "pro-UK".

I do not have a party to follow any more – I voted Labour most of my life, the first time in the 1960s, until the far-left takeover and Jeremy Corbyn knocked all my residual loyalty out of me.

As I detest nationalism of any kind I now vote for the candidate best placed to defeat the SNP, whomever that might be. It may be hard for a nationalist to understand but I have no party dogma to which I must adhere nor do I wait for the next pronouncement and instructions from above.

Alexander McKay

Edinburgh

TROUBLE BLOWING IN THE WIND

A Holyrood committee has said that no more than 5 per cent of people should be living in poverty by 2040. The previous aim to completely eradicate fuel poverty failed abysmally.

When will this SNP-dominated government admit that they are responsible due to their wind turbine fetish? All the wind turbines built were only built for the eye-watering subsidies which the UK government introduced and electricity consumers had to pay for through their energy bills.

Across the whole of the UK, households pay for these wind subsidies – and since the majority of turbines are in Scotland, Scottish households are subsidised by our English friends. Should Scotland become independent there will be demands to make Scotland's electricity users pay for their own subsidies.

Now that could be interesting.

Clark Cross

Linlithgow

WHY I'M PROUD OF THIS COUNTRY

I could not agree more with Vicky Allan's article, "Never again? Look around the world and you'll see Holocaust Memorial Day is as important today as ever" (Herald on Sunday, January 27.

I was extremely pleased to see mention of the overt attempted genocide and sexual enslavement against the Yazidi community at the hands of ISIS. The violence they have suffered is utterly chilling.

Recently the tireless Nadia Murad was recognised with a Nobel Peace Prize after her nearly four years of meeting with world leaders to ask for action in collecting evidence of genocide against her community and seeking justice for the crimes inflicted upon them. She's done this despite having her own enormous trauma.

Here in Scotland, people do care about such injustice. On January 19, I organised my second fundraiser in Edinburgh for the charity Yazda. This charity was set up by the Yazidi diaspora in response to the 2014 genocide.

The fundraiser was held in conjunction with Jamal Ahmed, owner of Souq, Haman's and several of Edinburgh's best Middle Eastern restaurants. He himself is a survivor of Saddam Hussein's gassing of the Kurdish village of Halabja in 1988 where over 5000 people were killed in three hours.

Our events have been successful in raising both funds and awareness. Perhaps the most cheering aspect has been approaching local businesses, often out of the blue, to ask for a raffle prize.

Once they understand the Yazidi story, prizes have been willingly offered up. One business, The Shortbread House of Edinburgh, recently made a four-figure financial donation because they felt so strongly.

Many of the businesses are small and I would be very grateful if you could help me give them the recognition they deserve: Shortbread House of Edinburgh, Narcissus Flowers, Porto and Fi, Hot Yoga Edinburgh, Glenkinchie Distillery, Charlie Miller, Arthaus Hair, JP’s Deli in North Berwick, The Bearded Baker, Villenueve wine, Innes and Gunn, Tunnock's, Vineleaf restaurant St Andrews, Edinburgh Blue Barber, Scottish Field, Diageo, Capital Theatres, Oban Live Festival, Cheryl Sills Jewellery, Dr Nell Drew, Made by Folk.

There are other Yazda volunteers in Scotland, notably Fiona Bennett, who recently won a Great Scot Award for her efforts for the Yazidi including shipping £300,000 worth of medical supplies to Northern Iraq. The Scottish Government has also given its clear support to the Yazidi cause.

I'm proud to live in a country where the suffering of others is not regarded with indifference.

A. Duncan

Edinburgh