Opponents call for Aberfeldy ‘Trump’ twinning pause

Pictures from BBC Reporting Scotland broadcast

Critics to take Salado plan back to Council

Opponents of the controversial bid to twin Aberfeldy with Salado in Texas will ask councillors to pause the plan despite a Community Council vote to proceed.

A rowdy public meeting was held on Tuesday evening (27th) to discuss proposals which have created a schism within the Highland Perthshire community.

Those in favour claim there are obvious historical and cultural synergies with the small village in Texas and that any differences are best talked through within the spirit of twinning’s purpose.

Vocal opponents claim Aberfeldy should not be associated with Donald Trump’s America at this time; the town entwined with the wider State’s record of historic slavery, civil rights abuses and the death penalty.

Pictures from BBC Reporting Scotland broadcast

Vote to continue

Despite acknowledging obvious tensions, the local Community Council doubled down on their original intentions in pursuing the arrangement, including their prior failed attempt to engage local people in the idea of twinning, and voted to continue.

They stated that the community had been invited to discuss twinning at a recent meeting, which the public were invited to, but that no one had turned up.

However, a local businessman, Oliver Romain, disclosed during a BBC broadcast on Wednesday evening that those against the proposal are now to make the case for a pause to Perth and Kinross Council.

‘Fundamental’ issues

The owner of Aberfeldy Aire, also an outspoken critic of plans to introduce a Visitor levy in Perthshire, told Reporting Scotland that opponents feel the proposed arrangement with Salado has not been discussed adequately with the community.

Whilst those in favour say twinning is a non-political handshake, Mr Romain made the case that the towns were ‘poles apart’ politically, citing issues of safety for potential visitors making the 4500 mile journey to Salado due to the State’s recent history of high-profile shootings.

Alternatives, he said, had begun to be discussed such as twinning with a Gaelic-speaking part of Canada or towns in Ukraine or Poland, but that they had not been given an opportunity for discussion.

“There are a number of fundamental flaws to the way that this has been handled, that we want to be addressed, and we are taking those issues to Perth and Kinross Council. It needs to be paused, and we need a full and proper consultation,” he told the BBC’s Fiona Stalker.

Pictures from BBC Reporting Scotland broadcast

Things that bind

In an earlier BBC Drivetime radio broadcast, retired Brigadier General, Jose David Rivera, from Salado, explained why the business community in the Texas village had pursued an arrangement with a Scottish town, reaching out to Aberfeldy community council.

Salado was established in 1859 and its founder claimed Scottish ancestry, leading to the village of 2600 residents seeking to declare itself the ‘Scottish capital of Texas’.

Mr Rivera said there were obvious ties and alignments around shared history, culture, architecture, education and their river-side location.

However, he acknowledged differing voices and the volume of online criticism, arguing the case, nonetheless, that the cultural exchange arrangement was an opportunity to ‘find common ground on the issues that bind us together’.

Salado, he said, had many family-owned businesses such as restaurants, pubs and a brewery and hoped the partnership could still be signed at the village’s 65th Highland Games next month.