At the October Ardentinny Community Council (CC) meeting, a member of the community asked the CC why the notices he posted on the community notice board which said ‘Refugees Welcome Here’ had been removed. With reference to the Community Council’s decision to remove similar notices which carried the 38 degrees logo, he assured the CC that his notices only carried the welcome message; that he knew nothing about 38 degrees; nor was he a member of any political party and he asserted that his democratic rights had been denied.
Some community council members admitted that they had removed the 38 degrees notices, as agreed with the Convener, but denied removing others. Other community councillors expressed their disappointment at the decision to remove any of the posters expressing solidarity with those who have lost everything, making the point that there is a difference between political and party political, and they wished to distance themselves from the majority members who had agreed with the decision to remove the 38 degrees posters.
The complainant left the meeting stating that he was unconvinced that his posters were not removed by members of the CC and maintaining his assertion that his democratic rights had been denied.
