{"id":2552,"date":"2014-09-13T13:26:19","date_gmt":"2014-09-13T13:26:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/english.thesunrisetoday.com\/?p=2552"},"modified":"2014-09-13T13:57:25","modified_gmt":"2014-09-13T13:57:25","slug":"thousands-march-to-keep-union-as-scotland-vote-nears","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/english.thesunrisetoday.com\/index.php\/thousands-march-to-keep-union-as-scotland-vote-nears\/","title":{"rendered":"Thousands march to keep union as Scotland vote nears"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"scotland\"<\/a>Thousands of members of the Protestant Orange order marched through Edinburgh on Saturday in a show of strength against Scottish independence, as the final weekend of campaigning for the referendum got underway with everything to play for.
\nUp to 15,000 supporters of retaining the United Kingdom were expected to join the march, which has sparked fears of clashes with nationalists as tensions rise ahead of Thursday\u2019s vote.
\n\u201cWe are proud to be part of Great Britain. We are passionate about the union. We are here to galvanize the \u2018No\u2019 vote,\u201d Henry Dunbar, Grand Master of the order\u2019s Grand Lodge of Scotland, told a rally in the shadow of Edinburgh Castle.
\nAcross Scotland campaigners from both sides were pounding the streets, after a week that saw the unionists step up their efforts following a surge in support for independence that now puts the two camps neck and neck.
\nOrange members from Northern Ireland and England joined the march on Saturday in a push for the union, although it has caused tensions with the official \u201cBetter Together\u201d campaign.
\nA working-class, fiercely pro-union Protestant fraternal organization, the order has been accused of fueling sectarianism and marches by member in Northern Ireland through Catholic areas often descend into violence.
\nAfter a 12-year-old spectator was hit in the face with a bottle at an Orange march in Glasgow in July, opposition Labour lawmaker Jim Murphy said: \u201cI want nothing to do with them, \u2018Better Together\u2019 wants nothing to do with them.\u201d
\nOrganizers of Saturday\u2019s march called for a peaceful event, urging members to \u201ckeep your cool and your dignity\u201d when faced with any opposition from \u201cYes\u201d campaigners.
\nWatching the streams of Orange order pipe bands and marchers singing \u201cGod Save The Queen\u201d through the streets of Edinburgh, \u201cNo\u201d voter Ginger Fraser said Scots were unlikely to be swayed by the event.
\n\u201cThere are people from \u2018Better Together\u2019 who look embarrassed by this parade, but I don\u2019t think it will affect the vote. People make up their own mind,\u201d he told AFP.<\/p>\n

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